Savagery
by MikhailTheTiger
Summary: It has been just over ten month since what is now being called the "Night Howler Debacle". Officer Nick Wilde has surprised himself with his turn around from a confox to an officer of the law, and he owes it all to his partner, Judy. For once, he is happy. That is, until an old enemy forces him to go savage and nearly kill his best friend...
1. Chapter 1

_**Author's note:  
Hello everyone! This is my first ever Zootopia fanfiction! While I have written plenty of fanfiction before (for nearly two years now), I have never written Zootopia, and especially since I found this chapter difficult to write, I want to know how well I did.**_

* * *

"There, that's the end of it…" grunted Nick Wilde as he finally filed the last folder of his last case into his desk drawer, rubbing his forehead with his paw in a vain attempt to cease his headache.

How a simple case of two young wolves holding up a liquor store had to have a twenty-page file attached to it still baffled the fox, even though he had been in the force for two months, not counting his six-month training at the Academy.

 _"It was simple enough. Those little wolf-gang wannabes robbed a place, me and Judy happened to be close by and apprehended them."_ Thought Nick as he leaned backwards in his chair, paws behind his head. Only that it wasn't just that, Nick had knocked one of them unconscious…

The wolf that tried to kill Judy…

Nick clutched the pen tightly as he grimaced in anger and recalled the events:

* * *

 _Nick parried the young wolf's knife by clutching his wrist and twisting it away from him, a technique he learned from the academy, perfected by his sparring sessions with Judy.  
The youngster grunted in pain and tried to kick the much shorter fox's shins, but Nick used this opportunity to dodge and trip the wolf over.  
Once put down, Nick disarmed his opponent completely, set his knee on his back to subdue him as he drew his pawcuffs._

"You have the right to remain silent." Said Nick as he clicked the cuffs on the young wolf. Saying those words never got old for Nick.  
It gave him a certain feeling of certainty and victory that being a conman never offered. The wolf hadn't even managed to knock off his trademark shades during the brief scuffle, Nick noted with pride as he set them higher on his snout.

Nick heard a dull punch and saw that Judy had apprehended her own suspect by dodging his blows then jumping on a shelf high enough to reach the enraged wolf's face and then launched herself at him with her powerful hindlegs in a scissor-kick.  
The leather-jacket wearing thug crumpled to the ground, flabbergasted that a tiny bunny had managed to beat him with a single blow. Nick whistled in astonishment.

"Nice one, Carrots." He said, leaning against the counter, relaxed that the job was done. Judy got on the wolf's back and took out her pawcuffs.

"You know, I could get you a pair of shades, you'd look so much cooler while cuffing lowlifes. Like I do." He said in his trademark snarky tone.

Judy groaned. "Nick, this isn't about looking 'cool'! Those sunglasses are a serious vision-impediment which could one day-" she was cut off by a sudden snarl as the wolf below her suddenly threw her off across the store out of Nick's view and lunged after her with a look that Nick only saw in animals that went savage.

The wish to kill.

Nick's heart skipped a beat as he heard crashing, groaning, and most terrifying of all, snarling and howling.

Judy was in danger. His precious Carrots was in danger.

"JUDY!" Nick screeched as he ran after the two.  
Nick drew his baton and turned a corner. The wolf was crouched over Judy, snarling savagely. Judy had managed to put her elbow against the young wolf's throat, pushing him off little by little.  
It looked as if Judy had this handled, but Nick wasn't going to leave her alone either way.

Nick lunged at the two of them and slammed his baton in the perp's ribs. The wolf screamed in pain and fell two feet away, clutching his side.

"Carrots!" yelled Nick as he rushed to Judy to help her up. Only that she jumped to her feet before he could do that.

"Gosh, Nick, stop worrying! I should remind you, I took down RHINOS in training! That little punk was no match for me." she said with a smile. Nick sighed in relief and smiled his signature, knowing smirk.

"No one messes with my Carrots!" he said, playfully flicking her ear, making her groan and roll her eyes. However, as she rolled her eyes, Nick noticed something: a spot on the fur of her neck was darker than usual. Nick caught her chin and touched the stain: it was wet. Not only that, it felt like… drool. His keen nose smelled traces of cheap bubblegum and cigarettes, confirming that it came from the wolf.

Nick put the pieces together in an instant: the wolf had tackled Judy and… tried to rip her throat out. If Judy hadn't raised her elbow in time, she'd have been…

Judy looked at Nick with concern. She saw how his expression turned from happiness to horror to… fury.

Pure, unaltered fury. She had never seen the happy-go-lucky fox so blatantly furious before.

"Nick, it's okay, he was drunk and more than likely high on something, he didn't know what he was doing." She said as she saw Nick turning toward the wolf with murder in his emerald green eyes. The young hoodlum was struggling to get up, still cradling his ribs.

"Nick, please don-" she didn't even get to say anything else before he roared in anger and kicked the wolf in the face, doubling him over on his back. Nick then pinned him while roaring with such fury that she heard only from animals hit by Night Howler. The enraged fox brought the nightstick down over the wolf's face with a dull crack.  
And then again, emitting a roar of anger each time the tough rubber truncheon hit the junkie wolf's face.

"Try. To. Rip. My. Partner's. Throat out? HUH!?" snarled Nick, underlining each word with another blow from his baton.

Nick suddenly felt small, slender, yet strong paws pulling him from behind.

"Nick!" yelled Judy with undisguised shock and horror in her violet eyes. Nick only calmed after he saw that Judy was, indeed alright. But it wasn't enough to prevent him from imagining what it really would have happened if Judy would have been stunned by the wolf's tackle and couldn't have acted in time…

He imagined her screams of death, her tiny lifeless body, and worse still, that it was all his fault… why hadn't he helped her arrest her own suspect after he cuffed his opponent rather than tease her about her lack of sunglasses?

Now she was lying lifeless on the filthy floor of a liquor store, because of him…

"Nick!" Judy's voice took him out of his dark thoughts. He was thankful for that. It was just that he couldn't help but imagine what atrocity could have happened because his cockiness… "

Nick… you're crying." Said Judy with concern.

Crying? Yes, yes, thinking about his Carrots like that… he couldn't help it, he didn't even realize it. Nick looked behind him at the wolf. He was unconscious from the beating, both eyes swollen and snout broken.  
Nick was lucky that in his state, he didn't even look at what his baton was aimed at, proof by the fact that some of the tiles were now cracked around the wolf's head, therefore, the beating wasn't as severe as it could have been.

"Let's radio this in, Cottontail." Said Nick, rushing out of the store to his cruiser as quickly as he could, not wanting to face Judy, feeling the hot embers of rage turning into cold ashes of remorse. What had he just done? A young wolf, barely out of being a cub, not even thinking straight due to alcohol and substance abuse…

* * *

Nick winced once more. He had never felt so furious in his life…

That thug… Nick didn't care that he was drunk, or high, or whatever the hell that wolf was (toxicology report showed that he was actually both when he robbed the store), he tried to kill Judy…

The bunny that turned his life around, the first rabbit to become a cop, the one who reunited him with his mother after ten years. The one who made him proud for the first time in his life that he was a fox.  
And that bunny, his _little dumb bunny_ , his Carrots, could have been killed in the blink of an eye by a lowlife wolf junkie… If Judy hadn't stopped him, Nick was pretty sure that he would have beaten the wolf to death.

"Nick?" came Judy's voice from behind. The fox turned around and saw Judy with two coffee cups in her paws. She handed one to her partner.

"Black. One sugar, no milk, hot. Just the way you like it." She said, handing him one of the plastic lidded paper cups. Seeing her alright, purple eyes beaming and that smile on her muzzle was all that Nick needed to get out of his dark thoughts.

"Thanks, Carrots." He said smiling, taking a sip of his coffee, wincing slightly at its hotness. His keen nose also picked up what his partner was drinking.

"Really, Cottontail? Vanilla cappuccino with mint? That glorified sugar milk? Real cops drink black coffee." He proclaimed proudly, raising his cup, downing a good part of its contents down his throat.

Only that he completely forgot in his bravado that the coffee was hotter than Hell on a summer day.

"Agh!" he groaned as the coffee burned his tongue. He ran to the water cooler, grabbing four stacked plastic cups at once, filling the top one to the brim and downing it over his burning throat. Nick cursed under his breath as he filled the cup once again. Looks like his next two meals will be completely tasteless thanks to hot coffee…

"What, Nick? You said it yourself that you like your coffee as hot as possible. This is why I always take mine warm, not burning." She said mockingly.

"Sly bunny." He murmured to himself, not being able to control his growing smile.

"Dumb fox." She retorted. He turned around dumbstruck.

"How the heck did you hear-? Oh…" he facepalmed. _Of course_ she'd hear him with those ears, she was a bunny…

"You know, these ears aren't here just so that you can flick them." She proclaimed smiling, running a paw over them.

"Oh, and I just finished interrogating the perp that tackled me. Here, you can finish up the paperwork on that." She said handing him three stapled papers. And just when he thought he had finished his paperwork… Nick cursed under his breath.

"I heard that, too!" said Judy cheerfully. Nick smiled back.

"Come on, Nick, these papers are just formalities! Just read them once and sign that you've acknowledged everything." Said Judy.

"No, Carrots, it's not that." Said Nick seriously.

"It's that wolf. The one that tried to…" Nick couldn't even finish the thought, let alone say it. His paws clenched into fists without his consent.

"Nick. I've talked to him in interrogation. He was high, he didn't know what he was doing." Reasoned Judy.

"He's just some kid who ran with the wrong crowd. Really, you shouldn't have reacted like that! You know what he did when I told him what he did? He started crying Nick, he didn't even realize what was going on back at the store!" she almost yelled.

Nick said nothing as he looked down at his paws. He had acted solely on instinct, not thinking that the young intoxicated wolf didn't even know what he was doing when he tackled Judy.

"So, after I told him all that, he decided not to press charges for police brutality." She said more calmly.

"Good, in that case I won't press charges for attempted murder of a ZPD officer." Replied Nick.

The image he created of Judy dead in the liquor store still lingered in his mind, like a throbbing wound that wouldn't heal.

In that split-second, it could have been over… And he would have had only himself to blame…

It hurt, it _physically_ hurt him to think back on that moment. He already couldn't imagine his life without Judy. Mainly because his new life was owed completely to her.

She was the best thing that ever happened to him.

When Nick was at the academy, the hardest part of it wasn't the training, his days as a conman kept him in shape running from the law as well as the occasional brawls with weasel ghetto gangs. Sure, he got a few scrapes and bruises at the beginning, just like Judy, but he got on top soon enough, even going as far as beating some of Judy's records (which he'd tease her with every opportunity he got)  
It wasn't the change of scenery, either, in fact he was glad of finally seeing some place other than Zootopia for once.  
And it sure wasn't his fellow candidates, who didn't poke fun at him for being small or a fox, as he half-expected them to, in fact his colleagues were what had made his six-month training tolerable.

No, it wasn't any of that. The hardest part was going months without seeing Judy except for the odd phonecall or seeing her Furbook updates. And now, that they were finally partners, he had almost lost her, on a "mission" that seemed as routine as anything.  
It gave Nick a wake-up call just how dangerous police work truly was. Especially for Judy…

"Nick?" she said again, concern and confusion in her voice. Nick realized that he was hunched over in his seat, elbows on knees, ears droopy. He massaged his chest, which seemed to ache slightly. _Must be heartburn from the coffee_ , Nick thought, lying to himself.

"You've… never been like this." She said, carefully placing a paw over his forearm. Her reassuring touch seemed to fix everything for him. Everything was going to be alright.  
The station was buzzing with activity, chatter, phones ringing, the faint crackle of paper, yet everything seemed to go silent when Judy was by his side.

"It made me think. The… incident…" Nick paused, knowing that Judy had figured out what he was talking about. Judy's violet eyes stared into his own and he found himself looking away.

"Tell me what's bothering you, Nick." She said, rubbing circles on his forearm in an effort to comfort him. She was his best friend, and she knew that, there was no way she was giving up on him. Nick shifted slightly, feeling his throat tightening. "Judy, I…" he began. The rabbit's ears shot up suddenly. He never called her that.

He called her "Carrots", "Cottontail", "Whiskers" and other assorted nicknames that coming from anyone else, she'd have found offensive, but from him, they always made her smile.

"I… I don't think I'm ready to see you die, Judy. And we risk our lives everyday…" He finished, the sob in his throat begging to be released, his eyes burning with emotion. Still, he refused to give in to his emotions and break down.

 _Never let them see that they get to you…_

He felt her paw rubbing his eye as if to wipe it and he realized that he had let a single tear escape his eye. "You think I don't know that?" she said softly, forcing him to make eye contact. "You think that _I_ would be ready to see my best friend die? I'm just as scared as you are." She said.  
"But we have to keep going, to right wrongs, to do what's best for the public. And don't say that just the two of us can't make a difference! We singlehandedly stopped Bellwether from segregating Zootopia! Think of what we can do now!" she finished.

Nick took in a deep breath, feeling his fears melting away. He fought the urge to hug Judy in a tight embrace. He still had his doubts, and he still knew that the paranoia would never truly leave him, but he also knew that Judy would always be by his side to listen to his worries, big and small.

"Thanks, Carrots." He said smiling, ruffling her ears. "You know I hate it when you do that." She complained, fixing her ears back, but her smile was a dead giveaway.  
"Yeah, I know that. And I also know that you love me." He finished, leaning back into his chair, paws behind his head, a grin plastered on his muzzle. A real one, this time. Judy smiled back.

"Hey, Wilde." Came a friendly, raspy voice from outside. It was one of the other officers, a tall middle-aged panther, Harry Clawhan.

He was lean, for a panther and his small eyes were of a predatorial blue-green.  
Despite his sincere smile and friendly personality whenever he saw Nick and Judy, he could be a criminal's worst nightmare. His green gaze could freeze the blood of a polar bear thug.  
He occasionally got in trouble for police brutality, Chief Bogo having suspended him twice in the eight month interval since Judy returned.

" _I only give animals what's coming to them._ " He'd say. And it was true, he was a good case mammal and an intelligent animal with great deductive abilities. A veteran of the ZPD, having been promoted and demoted respectively across a lot of departments, making him one of the most experienced officers in the precinct, which has often helped Nick and Judy when he offered to give them tips on cases.  
Nick met Harry Clawhan at the Academy, where he had a temporary position as a CQC (close quarters combat) and firearms instructor there due to getting suspended for storming a weasel drug den without a warrant.

"Clawhan, buddy! What brings you here?" asked Nick cheerily as he shook Clawhan's much larger paw.

"Heard of what happened with you and that young wolf, Alex." Said Clawhan, lighting a cigarette that was almost half the size of Nick's forearm. Nick's smile faded once Clawhan mentioned the wolf that tried to… he didn't want to finish that thought.

"Don't get me wrong, cub, I understand why you did it. And I know I'm not exactly the best officer in the precinct to give advice about restraint of force." Clawhan cracked a smile at the last comment. "But you need to be more careful. That right there, beating him after restraining him? That usually costs an officer his badge and six months in the can." Said Clawhan taking another drag from his cigarette and opening the window to let the smoke out as Judy was already beginning to cough and wave her hands in front of her to escape the smoke.

"Then you also heard that he tried to rip my partner's throat out." Hissed Nick with far more venom than he wished to direct to his friend. The fox only hoped that Clawhan could figure out that it wasn't directed to him.

"Yeah, I do. I've had a few run-ins with Alex the Wolf myself. I pity the poor kid, actually. Got into a gang to provide for his dying mother a year ago.  
His mother has since died, but he can't get out of his gang. They pretty much gave him no choice. You've only been with us a short time, Wilde, but you should know gang hierarchy. Once you get in, there's no getting out. It's either getting shot or a one-way ticket to jail. Also, he got addicted to drugs, and the only way to afford them is to continue enforcing for his gang.  
He was high when he robbed the store. He had no self-consent.  
You need to be more careful, Wilde, that wolf didn't deserve it. You're lucky he felt so guilty about trying to kill your partner that he decided to not press charges." Continued the panther.

"Besides, being angry doesn't fit you." Finished Clawhan with a smirk. Nick dropped his head and looked down at his paws. He'd have scolded himself not to become angry so easily again, but this was the first time he had truly lost it…

 _"Only because Carrots was in danger"_ he thought.

"And Judy, try to be more careful. Stopping in the middle of cuffing a violent suspect just so that you could respond to Wilde's snark? Don't get me wrong, you two are good cops, the best rookies I've ever had the pleasure of working with, but know that we're cops, not vigilantes. There's rules. Rules that I don't like either, but we don't have to like them, we have to respect them." Lectured Clawhan as he puffed some more smoke out the window, careful not to bother Judy with it, but she still scrunched her tiny button nose, muttering something about ruining Clawhan's health.

"Well, I should get going. Chief Bogo is right up my tail to finish the paperwork on a case. Wouldn't want to get suspended for another two weeks without pay. Nick… Carrots…" waved Harry Clawhan as he walked away smiling.

"Hey, hey, Clawhan!" called Nick after the panther. Judy was surprised to hear Nick somewhat angry.

"Yeah, cub?" asked Clawhan turning around. He seemed equally surprised at Nick's stern expression.

"No one calls her that but me." Said Nick as harshly as he could, despite the fact that he was smiling. Clawhan giggled himself.

"Noted, cub. Won't happen again." Said Clawhan, walking away giggling in his old smoker voice.

"And you too, Carrots, don't let anyone else call you that. You're my little dumb bunny." Said Nick smirking.

Judy punched his shoulder. Hard.

"Ow!" exclaimed Nick, rubbing his sore shoulder.

"I'm not _yours_ , Nicholas Wilde." Spat Judy with a lot more venom than Nick ever heard her say. She then turned on her heels and started walking away.

 _"Now you've done it, you dumb fox."_ Nick thought.

"Wait, wait, Carr-, I mean, Judy! Come on! I was just kidding around!" pleaded Nick.

Judy stopped dead in her tracks, but her paws were still clenched in anger. Nick sighed.

"Okay. I admit it. I went a bit too far. I just wanted to have some fun. If it bothers you that much… I'll stop calling you "Carrots". Judy's a really nice name, after all." Said Nick.

He felt a twinge of regret after saying those words. He never considered how it bothered Judy to be called by what was, at the end of the day, a racist slang against rabbits.

 _"I'll stop calling you "Carrots". Judy's a really nice name after all."_ Nick heard his rewinded voice.

What the-? Oh, no, she didn't… Nick thought. Sure enough, Judy was holding that blasted carrot pencorder.

She turned around and she looked as happy as she could be, smirking in a way that was not unlike Nick's con artist smile.

So she wasn't angry after all… She tapped the erase key on the recorder, much to Nick's relief.

"I just wanted to get back to you after you recorded me crying. I still haven't forgotten that." She said, coming back to their desk.

"And for the record, you can call me Carrots. As long as I can call you Duster-Tail." She said, flashing her signature buck-toothed smile.

"Duster-Tail?!" asked Nick, suddenly laughing.

"Yeah. Really, next time you come around Bunny Burrows with me to visit my parents you can help my mom with that tail. Living underground tends to make a house dusty. You could clean a room in two swipes." Said Judy, crossing her arms and smiling.

"Sorry, Carrots, but I make a point out of not letting one speck of dust on this emperor's mantle. Besides, I think my tail got assaulted enough at Bunny Burrows without it being turned into a duster." Nick cringed at that last sentence.

The second time Nick visited Judy's parents at Bunny Burrows, Judy's father ended up trusting Nick enough to also have his younger kits around the fox.  
Judy's youngest set of siblings were "only" about twenty in number. While Nick had fond memories of playing with those little sacks of fluff, one thing he wasn't so fond of was the time one of the boys decided to sit on his tail to see how fluffy it was.

Once he claimed to his siblings that it was "softer than a pillow" all the little bunnies took turns to sit on his tail. When it was finally over, Nick thought it was more painful than when he got drunk during his earlier days as a conman and let his tail swoosh to the side while walking on the sidewalk and a rhino's van ran it over. Who would have thought that bunnies' games could have become a _fox's_ worst nightmare?

"Yeah… sorry about that…" chuckled Judy sheepishly.

"Don't worry about it. Anyway, we're done with paperwork, but it's barely two PM. Chief Bogo hasn't got anything. We should do our patrol run." Said Nick.

"Sure, Nick!" said Judy, putting on her equipment belt.

* * *

Their patrol had been quiet for the first few hours, save for them arresting one of the members of Yak's "Naturalist Club", a young lioness, for public indecency and exposure.

Even though the predators around her didn't mind the "view", someone had eventually called her in.

"Wow… that really was something." Said Judy wincing after they dropped off the lioness at the station, giving her a towel to cover herself as Clawhauser booked her a cell for 24 hours. Nick had seen Judy investigating gruesome crime scenes without as much as cringing, yet seeing nude animals seemed to bother her a bit too much…

"Though I bet you enjoyed it…" said Judy in a challenging tone as she shifted her gaze from the steering wheel to Nick.

"What!? No way!" said Nick shocked. In fact he had tried his best not to look as he pawcuffed the lioness.

"Well, you're a male predator after all… She was lean, blue eyes, young and stark naked! Come on, don't get me wrong, I'm not against interspecies relations or anything!" she said, chuckling as Nick looked away.

"She's not my type." Grumbled Nick. ' _Not like you'_ he almost added…

"-Yeah, I mean, what would she do with you, tiny fox? Replace her dil- ?

-SHUT UP!" snapped Nick desperately just before she said… that.

Judy started laughing hysterically, punching the steering wheel. Usually it was she who cringed and desperately yelled "shut up!" right after Nick made a dirty joke, and turning the tide was _such a satisfying victory…_

"Eyes on the road, Carrots." He said annoyed.

"Oversensitive fox. " said Judy, wiping away a tear as she struggled to stop laughing.

"Cheeky bunny." He responded, regaining his smile. He once again found himself staring into her large amethyst eyes. Purple eyes were so rare, and oh so beautiful…  
She was able to hypnotize him without even trying… Nick Wilde, the great confox, dominated by a little dumb bunny…

But he liked it…

Nick's thoughts were interrupted by his smartphone ringing with his default tune, Gazelle's "Try Everything"

Judging by what he was thinking about, that was rather a good thing.

 _What the hell is wrong with you, Wilde?_ Thought Nick as he fished his phone out of his uniform pocket.

"Duke Weaselton?" asked Nick aloud, looking at the caller ID. After the Night Howler case, Duke Weaselton had continued his bootleg DVD trade as well as petty cons, but he decided to turn his life around (slightly) and become a police informant.  
He did this once he found out just how dangerous Night Howler truly was and that in his mind, he was guilty of all the animals going savage, even if it was in a small way. He felt so terrible, that he thought that the only way to redeem himself was to at least _try_ to do _some_ good.  
His information had helped Nick and Judy solve many gang-related crimes (as long as said gang was not Mr. Big's. The mutual respect between the mouse and Nick and Judy was too powerful for them to start meddling in his affairs)

"Answer it, maybe it's something." Said Judy, pulling over from the traffic into a back alley so that they could listen to it properly. Nick answered the phone, putting it on speaker.

"Hello? N-nick, J-judy? You there?" asked Weaselton's nervous voice. ' _Way too nervous'_ Nick thought.

"Yeah, we're both here. Anything to share with us, Duke?" asked Judy. Though Nick wasn't sure, he could have sworn he heard Weaselton gulp.

"Remember that catnip drug bust you did a week ago?" asked Duke.

"Sure we do, weasel. Couldn't have done it without your intel." Said Nick smiling, leaning back into his chair.

"T-there's still one base left of the cartel." Said Duke.

"What are you talking about? We even arrested their leader, Pawblo Escatbar." Said Judy.

"Yeah, but these are just… uh, small timers! They're just a couple of Pawblo's goons who were lucky enough to not around when you busted them. They took some scraps and are now dealing out of an abandoned warehouse. They're not much, it'll take months for them to become anything to worry about, but I say kill the snake young before it becomes a dragon." Continued Duke quickly, taking a deep breath as he finished.

"Duke, is something wrong?" asked Judy. Her ears picked up Weaselton's overly nervous tone way better than Nick.

"Uh… yeah, it's just that I'm calling from an alley behind a wolf biker bar, and one of the goons may be listening in. I-I mean, of c-course th-they're not, but, uh… you know…" continued Duke stuttering and ocassionaly pausing to take a breath. Nick and Judy looked at each other, brows furrowed in confusion and suspicion.

Duke Weaselton had always been fast-talking and nervous, sure, but not like this…

"Alright, Duke. Where is this warehouse?" asked Nick. Though Judy wasn't sure, she could have sworn she heard Duke let go of a tiny sigh of relief.

"Right. It's Talon Street nr13, the old warehouse with the Mountain Deer fizzy drink billboard attached to it . It's in that seedy neighbourhood just west of Lionheart Ave, outskirts of Savanna Central. Shut 'em down, coppers!" said Duke with forced enthusiasm.

Judy was about to ask something else, but Duke quickly hung up. Her and Nick stood in silence for a minute.

"Think something was up?" Nick broke the silence.

"I have to admit, he did sound nervous. But then again, he said he was behind a wolf bar, and it's reasonable to assume he was nervous because of that." Said Judy.

"Right… Well, no point in not checking it out. We can at least stake it out for a bit, see if anyone gets in or out." Said Nick.

"Right." Said Judy as she brought the engine back to life and steered through the crowded street.  
She still couldn't get out of her head how nervous Duke sounded. Then again, what harm could it be to stake out an old warehouse? Besides, while Duke was a crook, he was strictly small time, not ruthless.  
And he had proven his value as an informant multiple times. There was nothing to worry about.

Right?

Duke Weaselton began to breathe heavily, nearly hyperventilating as he finally hung up.

He had felt the need to do that ever since he had been speaking to Nick and Judy. Almost as much as he wanted to tell them that it was all a set up, but the gun pressed against the back of his head made him think otherwise.

"I… I think they bought it. They'll come…" He finally whispered to the figure behind him. To his surprise and dismay, Duke felt tears beginning to form in his eyes.

He had just betrayed the only two mammals in the world who saw him more than just a filthy street weasel. He had signed their death sentence to save his own sorry hide…

"Good." Said the tall figure simply, removing the barrel of his silenced pistol from Weaselton's head.

"Can… can I go now?" asked Duke, trying in vain to mask his tears from his ruthless captors.

"Are you stupid?" asked the figure, handing his silenced gun to one of his henchmen, a fierce-looking ram in blue combat fatigues.

Duke gasped for air, almost screaming. His eyes began darting around the dimly lit concrete basement, as if looking for a way out. But there was no way out. These guys were professionals, they had made sure of it.

This was it…

"You said you wouldn't kill me if I called them!" Yelled Duke, marching up the much larger figure.

He couldn't believe it. He had just betrayed the two closest animals to him, the closest thing he has ever had to friends, _he had killed them_ , for nothing.

Though he was small, for a zebra, his captor still was four times larger than the weasel, easily, not counting his two henchmen. The short zebra's cold, dark eyes made even rhinos or tigers think twice before crossing his path.

His voice held no emotion whatsoever, the only thing one could conclude from it was the fact that he was male. Even his stripes had almost no curve to it whatsoever, making anyone who looked at him uncomftarble. But his most striking feature was the clawmark scar across his right eye, courtesy of a tiger, his own proof that predators hadn't evolved that much since their bloodlust in what civilized animals called "The Dark Ages" thousands of years ago.

As soon as Duke walked to the zebra, the ram aimed the gun and fired. The well-aimed bullet went straight inbetween Duke's ribs. These mammals were marksmen, they would only aim for vital organs.

"And I spoke the truth. It wasn't _me_ that killed you." Said the zebra coldly, nodding to the ram. Duke let go of a muffled scream of pain, clutching his side in a pathetic attempt to stop the bleeding.

"You… bastard… This won't- Ungh! This… won't be… the end… of them! You won't kill them this easy!" spat Duke with as much venom he could muster as his vision went hazy and his willingness to not sleep was lessening more and more. He _had_ to stay awake, at least to tell these bastards off.

But the darkness seemed so inviting… Just close your eyes and the pain will go away…

"No. I won't kill _them._ Only one will die, and by the paw (and fangs) of their partner. The other will do the rest himself. Electric chair or suicide, depends of wether or not they'll find _it_ in his veins." Said the zebra.

" _What the hell is that supposed to mean?"_ Duke thought.

Even with his hazy vision, the weasel was able to see the zebra open the dusty from a worn steel desk and retrieve something which looked like a tranq gun.

However… the tip of the tranquilizers he loaded wasn't green, but purple.

 _Purple..._

Even now, his sins within the Night Howler case were catching up to him.

It would now be the downfall of Nick Wilde and Judy Hopps. And it was his fault…  
It was the last thing Duke Weaselton had time to think of before the much-awaited darkness overtook him completely.  
His final thoughts were hope that Judy Hopps and Nick Wilde could outsmart these bastards.

And if that malefic zebra's plan would succeed… he only hoped that Nick wouldn't blame himself for killing his partner all his life...

* * *

 _ **Author's note: Do you guys smell that?**_

 _ **Yup! It's the smell of an evil Cliffhanger of BBC Sherlock proportions! XD  
But unlike them, I'll only make you wait about a week, not two years (or four, in Season Four's case. Seriously, Moffat and Gatiss!?)**_

 _ **Also, special shoutout to whoever got at least some of the name references**_

 _ **Again, please leave your thoughts in a review as I've never written a Zootopia fic.**_


	2. Chapter 2- The Savage Fox

_**Author's note: Sorry for the delay guys.  
Wow, I was really surprised with how many reviews, favs and follows I got! Thank you so much guys!  
Anyway, read and review, and a little trigger warning, things will get pretty violent and scary (nothing too much, this T after all, but still)  
One more thing: this chapter I've tried adding a bit more descriptions, to set the scene better. Should I continue with this style of writing, or is too much description too boring?**_

Well, without further ado...

* * *

"Well, here we are." Said Judy, pulling up their patrol car in front of the warehouse. The neighbourhood itself was one of the worst places in Zootopia to find yourself at night.  
Petty wolf and weasel gangs fighting over scraps of filthy streets and abandoned businesses. The warehouse was from a time in which the neighbourhood had seen better days: Judy and Nick were able to notice large garage doors, expensive red brick and designs that would have been considered cutting-edge twenty years ago. Even this ghost of warehouse, with broken windows, peeled walls and old rusty trucks that have long been stripped for parts by gangs, showed that long ago, this was a relatively well-off working industrial neighbourhood.

"Once had an apartment here." Said Nick, looking around the trash-filled street.

"When my mom kicked me out. This, with all the money I got from hustling and petty thefts was all I could afford. Even then, when there were still some honest business mammals around, it was a real sinkhole. But, the rent was cheap, so I stuck around longer than I ought to. Even made some friends within some of the gangs, which saved my tail more than once." Said Nick.

"So what happened?" inquired Judy. It tore her heart to shreds hearing of the hardships Nick had went through, but she needed to find out.

"Well, I hustled a pawn broker out of most of his money. Sold him an apparently very expensive rug that was worthless. Not skunk butt levels, but still pretty damn close." Nick paused to chuckle at the last comment.

"However, since I made the poor weasel broke, he was forced to close down. And his pawn shop was what was giving the majority of the money to some wolf gang's protection money racket. When the weasel closed down, most of the gang's cash flow went down with it.  
Luckily, I had a friend within that gang and he warned me when the leader, a wolf called Carl "Carnivore" Johnson was coming to flail my hide off me. It wouldn't have been pretty, heard that these guys have got execution techniques nearly as nasty as the tiger Triads from Snarlhai or Hong Paw." Nick winced at that last comment, and so did Judy.  
Why did Nick have to go through all that simply because he was a fox? Simply because other mammals didn't offer him a chance?

"Think he may still be looking for me. Though I doubt they'd recognize me now." Nick chuckled humorlessly at that.

"The gang was called… Growl Street, I think." Said Nick. Judy's ears shot up. "

Wait a minute. Growl Street? That's where-" Judy suddenly went silent.

"Huh? What is it?" asked Nick. Judy's ears went droopy.

"That's… that's the gang from which the young wolf from the store robbery came from. The one who… tackled me." Said Judy, looking away, not wishing to see Nick's furious expression. That was simply something she didn't want to see on the muzzle that normally had such a sly, happy-go-lucky smile… Nick was silent for the next few seconds.

"Small world, eh?" said Nick dryly. Judy could hear the scowl behind his voice.

"Let's look around the place first." Said Judy, hopping out of the car. They both walked around the warehouse, looking at it, trying to deduce if there was, indeed, still someone inside, as Duke Weaselton had informed. Not that they were doubting the weasel, but they couldn't barge in without a warrant or probable cause.  
Nick looked in the distance through the chainlink fence and through the bottom floor windows, his natural night vision allowing him to see far more than Judy could see, something which he always bragged about whenever they were investigating a crime scene together. He focused his eyes further, trying his best to see through the distance, the dusty window and the almost complete darkness.

Wait, _almost complete…_

"There's light on the bottom floor! Any lights left there from the owner would have been long burned out by now! Someone's done some slight refurbishing!" Nick almost shouted at his deduction.

"Sherlock Hound, eat your heart out." Nick said slyly, whipping out his sunglasses and putting them on his snout.

"Ahem." Coughed Judy, her annoyance obvious, her foot tapping the ground until it was a blur.

"What is it, Bonkers?" asked Nick, crossing his arms.

"Actually, Mr. Sherlock Hound, I think we can deduce that someone's been here far more easily." Said Judy, pointing to the fresh tire tracks on the inside of the fence.  
And the extremely obvious brand-new replaced padlock.

"Oh. Right…" Nick had to fight hard not to facepalm. When it came to quick reasoning and deduction, and spotting the more obvious (yet important) clues still was Judy's forte, it seems…

"Well, let's search the place." Said Nick.

"What!? Nick, we don't have a warrant!" said Judy. This was something Nick didn't like about Judy as a cop: always by the book, never straying from procedure unless she was absolutely certain it would yield the solution of the case.

"We do have probable cause. You taught me that, remember, Carrots?" Answered Nick simply.

"What probable cause? The fact that someone was there at some point doesn't prove anything, procedure-wise! I agree, it's inconvenient, but we need a warrant if we don't want trouble with Bogo!" said Judy.

"Alright, how about the probable cause that a trustworthy source informed us of narcotics distribution happening within this building?" Said Nick, his con artist smile accentuated by him taking off his sunglasses to reveal his sly emerald eyes. He knew that the debate was won. Judy groaned.

"I swear you've been spending way too much time with Harry Clawhan." Said Judy, shaking her head.

"He's a good cop. Even if not always by the book…" said Nick, beginning to climb the chainlink fence.  
Judy rolled her eyes and jumped a good six feet, arriving near the top of the fence, climbing the rest with remarkable ease. She arrived on the other side in less than five seconds, waiting for the less nimble Nick to climb over himself.  
Suddenly, Judy thought she had heard something. She wasn't sure what, but her ears circled around, as if searching for the source…

"What is it, Radar Dishes?" asked the fox with his signature smirk, dusting his uniform once he jumped the fence.

"Radar Dishes?" asked Judy crossing her arms in apparent annoyance, but she couldn't help but chuckle at Nick's newfound nickname.

"Yeah. You can spin your ears more than I can spin my tail. Just like radar dishes." Said Nick, wagging his tail at her for good measure.

"Alright then. Duster-Tail. You're cleaning my room with it." Said Judy, sticking out her tongue at him.

"-But… jokes aside, Nick… I thought I heard something.

-What did you hear?" asked Nick. Judy frowned.

"-I don't know… but it's stopped now.

-Could have just been a scuffle or something on the other side of the neighbourhood. You bunnies always hear everything." Said Nick dismissively.

"No, I could have sworn it came from here…" she said thoughtfully.

"Let's get in." said Nick drawing his gun.

"Whoa! What are you doing with that?" asked Judy shocked.

"-Relax. It's not cocked. Not yet, anyway…

-Nick!

-Look, if we come across someone in there, the gun always scares someone into submission way better than a tranquilizer ever could. The prospect of death scares a criminal more than taking a nap. It's purely for the intimidation purpose, I'm not shooting anyone. Clawhan taught me that." Said Nick proudly. Judy rolled her eyes.

"Clawhan, huh? Why am I not surprised?" she said dryly. Truth be told, she had a lot of respect for the panther herself, but he went overboard way too often for her, she always wanted to be as by the book as possible. Nick quickly took a position by the door and carefully opened it.

"Huh… It wasn't locked…" murmured Nick thoughtfully. "Yeah, that's weird." Agreed Judy.

"Well, the fence itself was locked. Guess they figured that was enough. Because let's be honest, Pawblo's cartel goons weren't exactly the sharpest tools in the shed." Reasoned Judy.

"Yeah, you're right. Still, it's weird that they didn't even bar it." Said Nick. As soon as they entered the warehouse, Judy took out her elephant tranquilizer and flashlight. The warehouse looked as if it had been abandoned for years: rusty shelves with boxes with company logos that went bankrupt years ago, dust literally floating in the air with a musty stench, making Nick gag and for once curse his keen sense of smell.

There were two double doors on either side of the room, which were remarkably the sturdiest objects around. Peeled wallpapers advertising dated technology and foodstuff were plastered to the cracked, shrivelled walls.

"An ad for Zokia phones. Huh. Only thing good about them was that you could have probably had a rhino trample it and it survived." Said Nick, looking at one of the ads for the dated, green screened phone.

"Heh. Yeah." Agreed Judy. Suddenly, Judy's ears shot up and she pointed her tranq gun at the roof.

"What was that?" asked Nick, holding his own gun at the ready.

"Thought I heard something from around here… Maybe I'm just being paranoid… Probably just cockroaches in the vents." Said Judy.

"Cockroaches in the vents, huh? You guys _really do_ hear everything." Said Nick, relaxing. Still, Judy couldn't shake the feeling that she really had heard _something_ in the vents.

These types of warehouses had very thick walls, the sound of someone crawling through the vents could have been muffled enough for her to just barely hear it… Nick sniffing the air and arching his body up and down brought her out of her thoughts.

"What are you smelling?" asked Judy.

"Everything." Said Nick, taking another good sniff.

"Yep. There were definitely people here. Prey. Smells like cheap grass men's cologne." Said Nick, taking another sniff. Even though she had been partnered with Nick for more than two months now and they had already solved more cases than any rookie officers, her friend's amazing sense of smell still baffled her. Nick had a keen nose, even for a predator.

"We should split up. Nick, you go right, looks like it's darker down there, you can surprise or scout on whatever suspects are in here without turning on your flashlight. On the left looks like a wide open storage area, plenty of air ducts and places to hide, my hearing will come in handy. We'll stay in contact via radio." Said Judy, assuming her official, no-nonsense cop persona. Nick cracked a smile and made a little salute. "

Aye, aye, sir." He said, not able to contain his snort of laughter even as Judy punched him in the next second.

"This isn't funny!" hissed Judy through gritted teeth.

"What? It's not like I called you 'cute'… even though it's true... Cute bunny…" chuckled Nick, this time being prepared for Judy's reaction and dodging her blow.

"Quit screwing around!" she demanded.

"Alright, partner. Let's go kick some tails!" said Nick, holding his fist up for a bump. Judy sighed and rolled her eyes, but fist bumped her partner anyway as they parted ways. Nick creaked open the door, wincing at how much noise the ancient rusty door was capable of producing. He noticed a light switch on the wall, but ignored it, instead using his natural night vision to see through the darkness.

He held the gun forward, left paw beneath the clip, right one around the trigger, finger off the trigger. He smiled as he thought that even though he was a rookie, he was one of the best shots in the precinct, not as accurate as Harry Clawhan with his big 44., but still pretty damn close, even though Nick never shot anyone except with an elephant tranquilizer; something he hoped wouldn't change: taking a life didn't sound appealing to him in the slightest.  
But he did use his handgun for intimidation every now and then, never actually pulling the trigger outside the firing range.

As he advanced through the dark, musty corridor, he found himself staring down a flight of stairs leading downwards to a basement. He smelled something… disturbing. Something familiar and horrifying, yet something that not even his keen nose could place.

"Wilde to Hopps. Sector clear, descending into basement. Report status, over." Said Nick into the radio attacked to his chest.

"Hopps here. Sector clear, advancing into west wing. Over." Responded Judy.

Even when she was official and neutral and speaking into a walkie-talkie, her voice sounded so vibrant, so alive, so _her_ …

Nick descended down the stairs, the darkness making even him consider for a minute to turn on his flashlight. Not that he couldn't see, but it was simply… disturbing. A feeling of dread and fear set itself into his chest descending into his gut, ending with a shiver down his spine. Nick found himself breathing heavily. But he couldn't place just _what_ was scaring him this much…

" _Keep it together… See anyone, threaten them… Nothing can go wrong, Judy can handle herself. If there's anything, she'll call me via radio"_ Nick thought, trying to keep himself calm. The descent seemed agonizingly long, even though Nick knew that basements like this couldn't have gone very deep. He considered for a minute to cock his gun, just for the sake of feeling safer, but he realized that in his state, he might shoot a thug on sight, and that was the last thing he wanted. Just _what_ was causing him so much dread?  
He hadn't passed the Academy's psych evaluation with 100% score for nothing! Nick heard shuffling above him, causing him to aim his gun above him and let go of a gasp. Above him was nothing but the cracked celling with old electric wires dangling.

 _"Could be just mouse hobos in the vents."_ Thought Nick. Some of the lower-class residents of Little Rodentia would sneak into Zootopia and live there, hiding in holes and old buildings, only coming out to steal food. They didn't need much food to live, and it was remarkably easy for them to hide or escape the force on the odd chance that they did get spotted, so this type of life attracted a lot of poor small rodents.

Nevertheless, that noise made the icy pit in Nick's stomach freeze itself even further. He was now struggling to keep his breathing under control.

 _"What the hell is wrong with you? Just find some evidence, maybe arrest some drug dealers and hightail it out of here."_ He thought.

Strangely, the prospect of coming face to face with criminals in here didn't scare Nick. No, that wasn't what was scaring him, even though that was literally the only thing he could have been scared of while in there.

 _"What_ _is_ _scaring me, then?"_ Nick wondered as his feet finally found floor instead of steps. He sighed in relief.

Only that by sighing, he also smelled that dreadful odour again… whatever it was. And it was stronger down here. He eyed the old light switch on the wall and considered for a minute to turn it on: but his reason won over his instinct: if there were any suspects here, his night vision would ensure that he got the jump on them. He sniffed again, focusing to place the smell.

He almost dropped his gun

.Blood. It was blood. He followed the scent trail, coming to a door not far from the stairs. He opened it, for a moment cursing his strong sense of smell as the deadly, sickening scent made him gag.

The room was fairly large, a small storage area with a steel desk. Despite the fact that this warehouse was long abandoned, there were plenty of boxes and tools on the rusted shelves. A peeled poster showing a younger Gazelle, when she was just starting to become popular ten years ago, was plastered next to a dated-yellowed out computer on the desk, the bulky monitor still having several post-it notes stuck on the edges.

"Screw this." Muttered Nick to no one in particular as he pressed the light switch.

What he saw made him gasp and aim his gun. Duke Weaselton was on the ground in a pool of blood, a small bullethole on his side. The fact that his paws were clenched around the wound and his face twisted into a dreadful grimace of pain and hatred pointed to the fact that he didn't die immediately.

Shocked, Nick quickly fumbled for his small radio. He never got to call Judy as a powerful kick from behind brought him down as pain exploded in his spine.

Nick grunted in pain and fear and he quickly rolled out of the way for the follow-up and jumped to his feet.

His opponent was more than twice Nick's height, but he was too lean to be a tiger or a lion, a thin feline like a leopard or a panther, Nick thought. Sure, there were other animals who could have been that size, but only those matched the profile of a thug. Even so, he was small for his species. The masked mammal was wearing all-blacks, leaving absolutely nothing of him exposed.

"Freeze! Hands behind your-" Nick never got to finish his threat before the mammal kicked the gun out of his hand and then punched him in the chest, the blow also knocking his radio across the room.

Nick grunted in pain as the air was knocked out of him. This guy punched hard, as if he was wearing brass knuckles, like many hoodlums do. Yet Nick couldn't see any on his paws. Or were those even paws? They looked more like-

Nick's thoughts were interrupted by the much taller masked mammal picking him up and throwing him across the room, with the intent of tossing him into sharp metal tools. Recalling his police training, Nick angled his body and managed to roll on the floor unharmed, drawing his baton in the process.  
Nick feinted a jab to the mammal's stomach, but instead hitting him on the calf. The rubber truncheon connected with a dull crack as it hit the pressure point on the leg. The perp merely grunted slightly.

" _What the hell is he made of? I hit tiger enforcers on the calf nerve like that and they were on the ground yelling in pain!"_ Nick thought.

Whoever this guy was, he was used to pain, he wasn't just an average thug.

Nick was about to attempt a leg sweep, but the mammal beat him to it, sending a swift knee to Nick's solar plexus.  
Nick tried to scream as all the air was knocked out of him and pain exploded in his upper ribs, but he couldn't.

The black mask picked up Nick by the collar once again to throw him, but this time, the fox cop was ready, hitting the tall mammal across the muzzle with his nightstick as hard as his emptied lungs would allow. It was enough for the suspect to drop Nick and howl in pain. Nick fell on his back, his shoulders taking the full impact, the blow nearly breaking his arms out of their sockets.

 _"Get up. Finish this bastard off!"_ Nick tried to motivate himself as he tried to get up.

The slightest movement caused his ribs, chest and shoulders to scream in protest, making him double over and groan in pain. The mammal clutched his chin, spitting some blood through his mask on the floor.

He glared at Nick. Though the fox couldn't see his eyes, that gaze still chilled him to the bone.

"I'm impressed. It's been awhile since I saw my own blood." Said the mammal coldly.

Nick had never heard such a cold, emotionless voice. It was a voice that could win any argument, the voice of a mammal with no qualms or morality whatsoever.  
The voice of a true killer. Yet, the voice still seemed oddly familiar, but Nick couldn't quite place it. The mammal approached Nick, his intentions quite clear. Nick thought for a second to grab his baton, which had been dropped just within arm's reach.

" _No, he'll be expecting that, and it's still a good few seconds before he's near me."_ Reasoned Nick. He spotted a large monkey wrench on a bottom shelf near him. It was medium sized, for wolves, but still very heavy and dangerous.  
Next to it, a small rubber hammer. A plan quickly formed in Nick's head. The mammal eventually reached Nick, raising his bottom hoof to kick Nick in the face. Wait, hoof…

Nick quickly grabbed the rubber hammer and slammed it on the perp's ankles.  
He screamed in pain and retracted, much to Nick's delight. Nick quickly grabbed the wrench and got up.

The tool was far heavier than Nick's weakened and oxygen-deprived limbs could have anticipated, but he didn't care. Nick glared upwards at the taller mammal. With his height, this guy was a donkey, maybe a zebra at a stretch.

Nick's emerald eyes burned with hatred and determination, causing the assassin to take a step backwards, even if it was slightly.

"This is not how I die… This is not how I die…" hissed Nick through gritted teeth, sounding almost as if he had been hit by Night Howler. He lunged the heavy tool at the perp's ribs, a blow that Nick thought would make the suspect bend over in pain, making his face level with him for the blow that would knock him out.  
Only that the perp's quick reflexes caught the wrench. Nick tried to wrestle it away to no avail.  
The enraged killer threw a hoofed punch to Nick's muzzle. The fox felt his teeth vibrate and his head spinning, but he wasn't going to give up, not-

The trained assassin sent another hoofed punch into Nick's eye, finally ending the scuffle.  
Nick fell away, his world nothing but a blur of pain and blood. He heard the killer approaching him, but he couldn't even move.

He was done. Defeated.

"You're right. This is not how _you_ die." Said the killer in the same emotionless, snake-like tone.  
The Mask picked something up from the ground. Through the haze of pain, Nick saw that it was his gun. The killer pulled the slide back, cocking the gun.

"Hmm… Smith and Weasel 10mm, 15 round-special. I take it you chose it yourself from the police storeroom. Excellent choice, Wilde, though I assume you never had the guts to actually shoot someone with it." Said the killer coldly again.

Wait a minute, this guy knew his name? Well, he most likely got it from Duke, not to mention that he was a bit of a minor celebrity following the "Night Howler Debacle" as the media had called it.

"You know what I like about these warehouses, Wilde? Thick walls. There's no way your friend, who went in the other side of the building, heard our little scuffle. But she will hear _this_." Said the killer, firing the gun into the celling a couple of times.

* * *

Judy Hopps halted before opening a door, thinking she had heard something. It sounded faintly like crashing. But it wasn't from her side, it would have been more distinct then. While having advanced hearing helped her immensely as a cop, sometimes she heard things from outside which distracted her, and this couldn't be different, so she decided simply to focus on her task at paw. The small abandoned office was empty, once again.  
She sighed. While she did see signs that indicated that someone had been here, there was nothing that showed clear gang activity. She thought about calling Nick on the radio. Maybe he found-

Her thoughts were interrupted by two loud, dreadful bangs. Gunshots. Her heart dropped.  
Her keen hearing identified the shots as undoubtedly coming from the east wing basement, where Nick had…

 _Nick…_

Judy gasped for air and quickly fumbled for her radio.

Nick, Nick, Nick… She grabbed it, but her shaking paws dropped it.

"No, no, no…" she whispered, tears pooling in her eyes. She had to know that he was alright, and she had to help her friend. She quickly grabbed the radio again, pressing the button on the side.

"NICK! I HEARD GUNSHOTS! WHAT'S YOUR STATUS!?" she yelled much more desperately and tearfully than she had wanted. She waited. No response. Judy let go of a sob. The gunshots stopped as well, that could only mean… No… she couldn't imagine that Nick was…

"NICK! PLEASE RESPOND!" she sobbed into the walkie-talkie. Nothing. Judy wanted to scream, to punch the walls and break down crying. Her best friend was dead… her best friend was dead…

But… what if he wasn't? What if he survived and just desperately needed help? With that glimmer of hope, Judy began running as quickly as she could to where she knew Nick was: the basement.  
She needed backup.

"Central. This is Officer Hopps. Shots fired in the warehouse of Talon Street nr13. Officer Wilde is…" she paused to choke a sob. _Probably down… probably dead…_ "… in need of assistance! Send backup and an ambulance. NOW!" she screamed.

"Judy… are you okay? What happened?" asked Clawhuaser's concerned voice through the radio.

"Ben, just send them! Please!" She sobbed into the walkie-talkie.

"Okay, Judy, they'll be there in ETA 10 minutes." Said Clawhauser slightly panicked at Judy's voice. Ten minutes. Ten minutes in which Nick was probably bleeding out… The image of her beloved fox lifeless in a pool of blood, surrounded by bloodthirsty cartel thugs, laughing at him, one of them taking out a knife to skin him to make a rug for their boss popped into her brain before she could stop it…

Worse still, it was her fault… Why hadn't she contacted Nick on the radio as soon as she heard those faint crashing sounds?  
Heck, why had she split up from him in the first place?  
She had abandoned her partner… But if he was still alive, she was going to find him, she thought as determination replaced sadness in her eyes.

* * *

Harry Clawhan cursed under his breath as he saw the same rookie-cop wolf approaching him with yet more paperwork from Chief Bogo. It was Bogo's way of getting back to the panther after once again failing to respect "procedure".

"You know you're not allowed." Said the wolf, gesturing to Clawhan's cigarette.

Clawhan responded by blowing some smoke into the rookie's face. For a second, the wolf clenched his paws into fists, but the panther's glare made him turn tail. Good. It wasn't in Harry's character to be this grouchy, even by his standards, but today had been terrible for him. The only good thing he could think of was the brief conversation with Nick and Judy.

Ahh… those two. To Clawhan, the two rookie heroes were like family.

He'd never admit out loud, but he loved them like the children he never had.  
They were the two mammals who taught him how to be soft again ten years after his wife's death. Just thinking about those two lively, clever, sometimes slightly insane youngsters made the panther smirk, even as he completed more paperwork for his latest endeavour: shooting up an entire gang of bank robbers before backup arrived and using his Magnum instead of his tranq-gun.

Yeah, like those little darts stood a chance against six ex-con wolves and tigers with automatic weapons. Just as he completed another statement (that was virtually identical to the previous seventeen), the phone on his desk rang.  
Clawhan sighed in relief. Maybe it was a case, then he could tell Bogo to stuff his paperwork somewhere.

"Inspector Clawhan, Homicide." He said, energetically picking up the receiver from the first ring.

"Harry! Something's happened!" came Clawhauser's panicked voice from the other end. The panther's jaw tensed.

"What is it, fatso?" asked Clawhan sternly. He liked the chubby cheetah, hell, he had been his partner fifteen years ago, back when he was 150 pounds lighter, but right now he wasn't in the mood for Ben's antics. Last time Clawhauser had called him like this was to show him the new "Gazelle Dancing" app he had downloaded.

"It's Nick and Judy, Clawhan!" Ben yelled. Harry gasped, making a few of his fellow officers turn their heads. He suddenly felt sick to his stomach. Nick and Judy… and judging by Ben's tone…

Oh, God no…

"What happened?" asked the panther, trying his best not to sound panicked.

"-Judy just called! She requested backup and an ambulance at Talon Street 13, shots fired.

-Talon Street!? What the hell are they doing all the way in that shithole!? They were supposed to patrol Downtown!

-I don't know, pal. But, Judy…" Clawhauser paused and Harry could have sworn he heard the cheetah swallowing a sob.

"Judy was crying." Finished Ben. Harry felt his world spinning. Judy, crying… she _never_ cried. Shots fired, that could only mean that Nick Wilde was… Harry hung up his phone and clung onto the desk, trying his best not to hyperventilate.  
He took out his wallet and looked at the picture that was attached to it. It was the picture of him and his wife, a snow leopard with icy blue eyes, ten years ago, in front of their house. But that wasn't what he wanted to look at: he unzipped a secret compartment of the wallet and took out another picture: one of Nick and Judy.  
He had taken it after Gazelle's concert on Nick's first day. The two were sitting in Clawhan's 70s orange muscle car. Nick had that signature, infuriating smirk while he held the wheel and Judy held a smile showing her pearly white buckteeth as her left paw was around Nick's shoulders. Many cops had taken pictures around Harry's car, and he always begrudgingly agreed, but this one was special to him, it was the only one he kept.

They looked so carefree and happy…

"What the hell did you two cubs get into now?" Harry whispered to no one in particular as he felt tears sting his eyes for the first time since his wife's funeral. With that, he threw on his trenchcoat, stuffed his large gun in his holster and ran for the exit, ignoring the indignant shouts from officers as he shoved his way throw the station.

"Please. Please let them be alright." He prayed as he jumped into his car and sped away.

* * *

Nick kept trying to suck in breaths to recover, but his chest and ribs protested at even the slightest wheeze. It hurt just to stay like that, let alone get up and fight an animal two times his size.

"You were right about one thing, Wilde. This is not how _you_ die." Suddenly, the killer's voice sounded… satisfied?

"But this is how _she_ dies!" malice and overjoyed insanity suddenly found itself in the killer's speech. He pulled out a weapon from behind. Nick gasped. That weapon… it looked just like… no.

Pain shot through Nick's shoulder as the assassin took the shot.

"I wonder if there will be enough left of her for a funeral. Bon apetit, fox!" he said laughing.

Laughing… this bastard was _laughing!_ He was laughing at the mere thought of Judy being killed by him…

"Just you wait when I catch up with you…" Nick hissed as he felt his muscles getting tense, his vision reddening.

No, control, control, control…

"I won't need Night Howler to rip your throat out then!" Nick said as loud as he could, which wasn't much, but it was enough… The killer took a step backwards and Nick swore he could hear him gasp ever so slightly. Maybe it was his deadly green gaze, or his sheer savage tone amplified by the Night Howler starting to take control, but there was something in Nick's speech that froze the veins of even this hardened killer. The mammal decided to deliver one last blow before leaving. He removed his mask. This mammal was a zebra with a claw scar across his right eye.

And his eyes… God, Nick had never seen _anyone_ with such dark, evil eyes. He didn't even look like he had them, they looked like two empty, dark voids of despair.

"Nick! Nick!" Nick heard Judy's voice coming closer. His heart caught in his throat. No…

"Judy… Don't… come…" Nick tried to yell, but it was barely a weakened whisper.

It sounded like a low growl…

A _growl_ …

No… Control… control… for Judy… Nick was suddenly struck with a scent.

It was Judy. She had always smelled of freshly cut grass, carrots and a slight tint of roses, her favourite bunny perfume, but that wasn't what Nick was smelling. No, it was her fur, her blood, her flesh, even her very fear seemed to have a scent to it.  
And to Nick's horror, she smelled utterly… delicious…  
And the predator was so very hungry…  
She was approaching… yes, the prey was coming to him!

No! No! He needed to fight it… he couldn't kill Carrots, he loved her…

 _He loved her…_ Nick surprised himself with that realization. It made the red haze lessen. He loved her as more than friend and more than partner…

He'd rather die than be her demise… He just needed to stay in control…

"Nick!" Judy suddenly burst into the room, only to be kicked by the zebra from behind. She yelled, clutching her ribs, not able to get up, her tranq gun knocked away at the zebra's feet. He picked it up.

"For good measure." He said, stuffing it at the back of his trousers. He then smiled maliciously, his scar twisting alongside his grimace.

"Wish you were muzzled, now, eh, Wilde?" he said mockingly. Muzzled? Wait… that zebra… it was… Nick's memory of getting savagely beaten and muzzled by his "fellow" scouts flooded back into his brain.

Once a degenerate, always a degenerate. Judy was still struggling to get up.

"The beast's gun is over there. Kill him. If not… well… then I set up you lovebirds with a dinner date!" he said, barking a laugh.

"I seriously wish I could sit here and watch the show, but your fellow dicks will be here soon. However, I imagine the evening news shall provide me with sufficient entertainment…" he finished, tipping off an imaginary hat with a grin as he ran off, locking the door behind him to prevent Judy from escaping.

Judy finally got up, burying the throbbing pain in her back. She screamed when she saw Duke dead.

It had all been a trap… She should have realized it as soon as she heard how panicked he was on the phone…

What that zebra said… it indicated that Nick was… Her heart dropped to her stomach as she gasped in fright. So this was the plan all along…

Nick was on the other side of the room, shaking on the ground, growling and wheezing. But amidst the primal noises, she heard him mutter something… She angled her long ears to hear it.

"Kill me… Kill me…" he said in barely a whisper.

She yelped again, at the mere thought of having to put a bullet through her best friend…

 _Her lover…_

"No…" she said shakily, unsurely taking steps toward Nick.

"Fight it, Nick. Just hold on. Backup and an ambulance are on the way, they'll have the Night Howler cure." She said, holding out a paw to her friend. As Judy approached, her delicious scent became more and more intoxicating.

He had to feed… to kill, to feast…

 _Look at her. She's not even trying to run, it's like she wants to you to kill her._  
Nick let go of a savage primal roar as he felt a surge of power and strength going to all of his joints.  
His aches from the fight disappeared.  
He was strong.

Strong, he was strong, she was weak… she was prey…

Judy screamed and jumped backwards, glancing at Nick's gun.

 _No, I won't. Not now, not ever…_ she thought. With shaky fingers, she drew her tiny baton.

Nick approached her slowly on all fours, his hypnotic emerald gaze turned into a toxic pool of green savagery. She remembered the night at the museum, how he had _pretended_ well enough to fool even Bellwether.  
But now, it was for real.

His growls and roars were louder and more animalistic, his claws unsheathed, his muscles tense, visible through his uniform, and, most terrifying of all, saliva dripping from his fangs. He was going to kill her and feast on her flesh… Judy held onto the baton like a lifeline, her other paw held out to him in a "stop" signal.

"Nick… please…" she said, tears streaming down her face. Nick had stopped in his already slow march, but he was still growling and roaring.  
No, Judy corrected herself, it wasn't Nick anymore. This wasn't her friend. This was a monster created by that draconic zebra. T

hat thought made her release a sob, looking at the monster that wanted nothing more than to feast on her blood. Her only hope was that maybe, by a feat of skill and luck, she could knock him out with the baton. With only an ear-piercing screech as a warning, Nick lunged at her.  
Judy screamed and rolled out of the way. Nick's claws swiped the air where she had been only a fraction of a second ago and he hit the wall behind her.

With a cry, she brought the baton down on Nick's scalp. It tore her heart to shreds having to hit her best friend. _No, it's not Nick, it's not Nick… just a monster…_ she thought. But it still _was_ him… in that body… that was the fox that always came back at her with some sarcastic remark, whose jokes always brightened up her day, who forgave her for insulting him and all the predators in Zootopia, who was her closest friend.

And with whom she wanted to be _more than friend…_

 _She hurt you! This feeble little prey had the nerve to fight back! Kill her! Feast on her blood! Smell her fear!_ This was all Nick was capable of thinking as he lunged once more at his friend.

 _No, don't hurt her… stop… she's your best friend…_ another voice said, only that it became weaker and weaker as seconds ticked by. Nick swung his paw at her chest as she tried to dodge his tackle.  
It scratched her Kevlar that she always wore on top, but her unprotected lower chest was grazed. She screamed in pain as she saw her own blood.

The savage fox roared at the intoxicating smell of blood.

She was hurt… he just needed to finish her and the beast could feast…

Judy fell down from the blow and Nick lunged at her. The rabbit screamed as she felt her partner's hot breath on her fur.

He was so close… She closed her eyes, not knowing what else to do.  
But then she heard it: a whimper like that of a kicked pup. She dared to open her eyes and came face to face with the predator. He had stopped just inches from ripping her throat out.

He was shaking his head as if something terrible was strapped to it. He whimpered again and their eyes met.  
What Judy saw filled her heart with hope.  
Deep within that emerald pool of savagery, fury and bloodlust she saw regret, struggle to maintain control and… tears.  
Her keen bunny ears heard something like a waterdrop dropping. It was from Nick's eyes on the floor.

 _He had been crying this whole time…_

He was still there… fighting hard to defeat the beast within him. He was whimpering… he was fighting and it hurt so much…

Judy sobbed once again as she figured all this out.

"Please, Nick. You can do it. You can fight it, you're so strong, Nick, you're-" she was cut off by a loud roar which made her lungs vibrate. It was louder than any of the previous ones.

The beast had won . That was all Nick was now…

Judy quickly got out of the way, rolling away from him. Maybe if she could just dodge him enough until backup arrived maybe…

Nick pounced again. Judy tried to run, but Nick clawed her ankles just before she was out of reach. Judy yelped and fell over just next to Nick's gun. On instinct, she picked it up.  
But her emotional and rational side got to her again. She wouldn't kill him, even if it meant that she had to die…

She rolled on her back, just in time to avoid Nick's jaws clasping on her throat. Instead, they clasped on her Kevlar and her left shoulder. She screamed as she felt the sharp fangs pierce her shoulder, scraping the bone.  
It was unlike any pain she had felt before, she felt as if she was going to pass out.  
The rest of his fangs were squeezing her Kevlar like a vice, feeling her ribs being strained nearly to the point of breaking.  
She raised Nick's gun. It was a bit too large and heavy for her, as it was fox sized, but her training had made her incredibly strong for someone her species.

She brought down the butt of it over Nick's head as hard as she could.  
The beast roared in pain and fury, his powerful jaws stopping their gnawing, but only for a second.

Judy brought it over his head again, and again, her valiant pistol-whips eventually making him retract, but only just, his rage amplified.

Judy couldn't do it. She knew that she had to shoot him to live.  
She didn't.  
Letting go of a sob of defeat, she unloaded the gun, unstrapped the barrel and threw the rest of it across the room.

Behind her and on her left was a wall.  
On her right was a shelf full of tools and boxes.  
In front of her was her death, her best friend, her partner turned savage by someone more malefic than any of the ancient predators.

Her _lover_ turned into a monster.

His growls were low, but they still made her insides vibrate. His eyes were more enraged than before.

Saliva was dripping from his fangs more profusely. There were no more tears coming from his eyes, no more whimpers of struggle erupting from his throat, no more remorse in his slow, deliberate advance.

This was it. The Night Howler had taken control completely.

Judy curled up in a ball against the wall, awaiting her demise. No one had arrived yet, no sirens were heard, no screeching tires, no patter of paws against the pavement.

But when they _did_ arrive, what would they do when they found Nick feasting on her corpse? Would they shoot him dead instantly?  
Would they tranquilize him and then the court would decide he should get executed?

And if he did get cleared of all charges, would Nick kill himself? That last thought made Judy erupt into a fit of sobs.

Yes… that would be it. She knew that once victims of the Night Howler recovered, memories of their attacks were vague, at best, in the beginning. But as time went by, they became more and more real… Nick would be tormented not only by the knowledge that he had killed her, but he'd also remember every detail…

And that would kill him.

"Nick… oh, Nick… I'm so sorry…" she sobbed, teary amethyst eyes meeting bloodshot savage emerald.

It was her fault. Why hadn't she realized that Duke was coerced into calling them? Heck, why had she split up from Nick in the first place? Nick seemed to slow down once again, but he resumed his advance, his savage growls never once stopping. "Nick… please don't blame yourself…" she said crying, looking into his eyes. He was now a mere half foot from her. She could once again feel his hungry breath on her. His pearly white fangs now stained with her blood were ready to rip her apart and feast.

It was now or never. She had to tell him, he would remember later…

"Nick… I love you…" that final sentence made her erupt into sobs.

"I love you… I'm so sorry…" she repeated inbetweed sobs.

Nick whimpered… He _whimpered again…_

But Judy knew that it was useless. The drug would take control once again soon. Still, that bought her some time.

"I love you so much… Why didn't I ever tell you? Why? I'm so sorry!" she couldn't take it anymore. She hugged Nick's head and sobbed into the fur on his scalp. To her surprise, he didn't kill her.  
But once again, it was only a matter of time. She couldn't move anymore due to her injured shoulder, shins and torso. She would die while hugging Nick and confessing her love.  
She wouldn't have rather died any other way…

She placed one first and final kiss inbetween his eyes that were beginning to be filled with tears once again.

 _I'm so sorry, Nick…_ She then laid back, closed her eyes, awaiting for the freeing bite.

The red haze lessened. The delicious taste of blood in his mouth turned into bitterness.  
What had he done? The urge to kill was still present, but he was struggling to keep it under control, and for the moment, he was succeeding. Judy was in front of him, curled up in a ball crying, blood staining her shredded uniform and Kevlar.

He had done that… it was him… the monster, the savage predator, it was his fault…  
And she still loved him and forgave him…

 _"Judy, I'm so sorry… I love you…"_ he tried to say inbetween tears and growls, but these sweet sincere words only came out as a cruel, inaudible roar.  
Judy yelped and curled up against the wall even further, paws clutching her wounds.

"Please… please, Nick… don't blame yourself…" she said as more of her tears stained the concrete floor.

He could do nothing but roar… he had hurt her… he was a savage monster, _and she still loved him…_

 _Look at her… she's hurt… smell her blood, feast! You've earned the right to feed! She's beaten! Eat your pray, glorious predator!_ A voice in Nick's head said, the voice becoming stronger and harder to resist as seconds went on.

He had to feed, he had to feed…

But Judy would die because of him… Nick knew that it was only a matter of seconds before the Night Howler took control completely, heck, it had been a miracle that he was able to break through the control this many times.

Nick averted his eyes from Judy to the left. A shelf full of tools and heavy boxes. Half of them were halfway off.

Just one push and…

With his final ounce of self-control, Nick roared and launched himself into the metal shelf.

Pain emerged from his body as boxes, wrenches and hammers showered him. It would be over soon…

 _"You're safe, Carrots, you're safe…"_ was all that Nick had time to think before his world went black.

As soon as Nick roared, Judy curled up within herself even further, awaiting for Nick's fangs to pierce her throat.

 _Please let it be quick and painless, please…_

But then, she heard the deafening sound of heavy objects falling and crashing as she no longer felt Nick's hungry breath on her fur.

She dared to open her eyes. She gasped. Her partner was lying still underneath boxes, wrenches and hammers. No, he wasn't just _still_ he was _motionless_ , there was a difference, a slight, horrifying chilling difference.

"NICK!" she screeched, rushing to his side. Her injuries screamed in protest, even making her stumble in pain, but she didn't stop. Her paws quickly got to work removing the tools that fell around his head.

To her relief, there was no pool of blood surrounding his skull, but that still left the other boxes on him. Had he broken any bones? Thinking about that made her feel sick with herself.  
She tirelessly shoved aside boxes and tools, some of them five times her weight, but she kept on pushing and shoving as if they were made out of air. After this was done, she flipped Nick on his side and put her ear over his chest.  
She knew that if he came back from unconsciousness that the Night Howler would still be in control, but she didn't care. All she cared about was making sure that the fox she loved was alright.

"Come on… come on…" she whispered tearfully as she waited for a pulse.

She waited… she waited… she waited… Nothing.

"No…" she whispered, choking a sob.

"NO!" her whisper turned into a screech as she buried her face into his neck.

Her best friend was dead… her best friend was dead… Her _lover_ …

"Nick! Please don't go away! We've still got more to do! All the things we didn't do together! Don't you leave me, you dumb fox!" she sobbed into his neck.

She knew that if he _did_ come back, he'd have still been under the effects of the Night Howler, but she didn't care. The world around her was blurred. All that mattered to her was that Nick Wilde was no more, because of her… The earth could have collapsed and she couldn't have cared less.  
She didn't hear the sirens from outside as backup finally came, or the familiar roar of Clawhan's muscle car and tires screeching, doors slamming, guns cocking, orders barked by Chief Bogo.

She was only aware of them when the door was kicked in. All the officers present gasped as they saw Judy in her bloody and shredded Kevlar standing over the motionless Nick. She sobbed in relief and cracked a teary smile when she saw them.

Hope. Hope for Nick.

"HE NEEDS HELP! HE'S BEEN INFECTED AND HE'S HURT! PLEASE!" she screamed.

"Get the paramedics down here!" one of the officers ordered.

It was Harry Clawhan, distinctive by his raspy voice. All the other officers went to check on Duke's body.

"Judy! What happened?" asked Clawhan with a rare, panicked gaze as he crouched to be on Judy's level.

"Nick… Night Howler…" was all Judy was able to say before she broke down and started crying uncontrollably in Harry's trenchcoat.

The lean panther was shocked by her breakdown. She was normally so sure of herself, so strong, so capable of hiding her emotions.

So _her._ Clawhan understood at once what happened. Judy's shredded uniform and injuries, he saw Nick's fangs stained with blood, not to mention that Judy herself stated it.

He didn't want to imagine the scene…

He unsurely placed a large paw on Judy's back, careful to avoid her injuries.

"He didn't have a pulse, Harry. He- he… did it for me! He had regained control for a while and he-" she couldn't say it as she broke into another fit of crying.

Two paramedics, an antelope and a female deer came down and set Nick on a stretcher.

"BP's gone! Start CPR!" One of them shouted as they quickly carried Nick upstairs, applying chest compressions to the limp fox as they left.

Clawhan couldn't believe things had went to hell this quickly.  
It seemed unbelievable, just hours ago he had been chatting with Nick and Judy, laughing, offering advice… now Judy was injured and Nick was probably… Clawhan didn't finish that thought.

It had been the same the day his wife died. You never expect it when someone close to you dies like this. There's no warning, one moment you're enjoying their company, something that you take for granted, something that never changes, and then _it happens…_ You never realize how important animals like this are in your life until you don't have them anymore. Until fate cruelly takes them away in one, agonizing second.

"Harry?" said Judy. The panther looked down on the small bunny in his arms. He knew that he had to give her to the paramedics to treat her injuries, but she needed him right now.

"I love him." She said suddenly. He felt his heart sink. Love? Honestly, he wasn't that surprised, they clearly were as close as friends could be, but he didn't realize they actually _loved_ each other. Hell, she probably didn't realize it until she thought that she was about to die.

 _You never realize what you truly have until that something is taken away from you…_

"Do you… *sniff* think I'll ever get to tell him?" she whispered. Clawhan held her closer.

"You will, cub… you will." He rasped.

Harry wasn't sure if he was saying it more to soothe her or him.

"Detective! Look at this!" one of the junior officers, a young Bengal Tiger shouted at Clawhan, showing him a paw sized black object.

Harry identified it as a shinguard, common in professional stealth suits. It was cracked, it had been knocked away by Nick during his scuffle with the perp.

The one who infected him...

Harry dropped the shinguard as he was sure he would crack it as his paws clenched into fists.  
Every ounce of him turned into hatred against the animal who did this...  
Who broke the two animals that were closest to him, and who probably killed Nick...

"I'll get you you son of a bitch, I'll get you..." he muttered as he watched Judy being carried away by the paramedics.

* * *

 _ **Whoops. Another cliffhanger.  
This time even more evil XD**_

 _ **To make matters worse, I don't know when I'll be able to update again due to exams looming.**_

 _ **Sooooo... bye bye! *takes off running from angry followers***_

 _ **Jokes aside, please review as I have my doubts about this chapter as well as the fact that I experimented with more description.**_

 _ **Also, special shoutout if you get the name references!**_


	3. Chapter 3- The Visionary Zebra

**_Right, sorry it took so long, guys, but me and my family moved house and the Wi-Fi setup is fidgety at best.  
I've been struggling with Writer's Block while writing this, and that, combined with lack of time, exams looming, Easter and catching up on Daredevil Season 2 (the show's awesome, watch it!) makes me fear that this may be a bit rushed. I have my doubts about this chapter, so please R&R!_**

* * *

The next few hours were a blur of pain and tears as the doctors loaded her to the back of an ambulance while Nick was being put in another, the young deer paramedic still applying CPR. She scarcely remembered one of the paramedics, a young albino wolf, handing her a paper cup of water as the other doctors busied themselves applying first aid.

She still couldn't believe, no, _didn't want to believe_ what had happened.

Nick, turned savage…

She would never forget the _hungry_ look in his eyes, his snarls as he tried to bite her shoulder out of its socket, his tears and whimpers as he struggled to maintain control, and… his sacrifice. Her shoulder was the worst off by far. As soon as the antelope who was cutting the fabric of her police shirt came sight with the wound, she quickly picked Judy up and placed her on her stomach on the stretcher.

"It's a deep wound!"

"Stop the bleeding before we reach the hospital!" and other shouts, orders shouted desperately inside the ambulance went unheard to Judy as she went unconscious from the pain, tears, exhaustion and desire to repress the day's events.

* * *

 _Judy was running.  
What was she running from? She didn't know, all she knew was that she had to run to survive._

Her feet seemed to… float, as if she couldn't run any faster. No, no, she had to get away, she had to escape the-

An ear piercing roar from behind her, becoming closer and closer, urged her to keep running.

Run, run, run… The rapid scurrying of paws was drawing closer and closer and for whatever reason, she was losing her will to run. Just as she thought all hope was lost, a gun materialized in her paw.  
Just as she heard the monster roar and lunge, she turned around and pulled the trigger. She saw a red bullethole appear on a navy blue police shirt.

Wait… who was the monster? The gun simply disappeared, and the monster was whimpering… something.

"Judy… Judy…" he was saying. Judy gasped.

"NICK!" she screamed, falling to his side. His emerald eyes, already half-closed still looked at her lovingly.

She had killed him… it was her fault…

"Carrots… you made the right choice…" said Nick, placing a paw on her cheek.

"No, no, no…" she repeated desperately.

"I'm just a predator, Carrots… a killer…you did well…" he said, finally closing his eyes.

"I love you… forgive you…" he said as blood leaked out of his mouth.

He was gone… because of her.

"No…" she whispered. "NO!" she screamed.

It was her fault… She loved him, and she killed him…

She tried to sob into his fur, but even his body disappeared.

"NICK!" she screamed, looking around her completely black surroundings

. She was alone now. Trapped in this self-made hell, with nothing but her own guilt and the knowledge that the fox she loved was no more and that he would never come back because of her…

No more jokes while on patrol and chasing criminals, his attempt at lighting up the mood even in the direst of situations.  
No more late nights watching movies, laughing and having popcorn eating contests rather than watching the actual movie.

No more chance to kiss him on impulse and tell him just how much she loved him…

Now, all her dreams, all her love, all her accomplishments were worth

 _nothing_ _because she had killed him…_

* * *

Judy jolted upwards in the bed, screaming. She groaned in pain as pain erupted in her left shoulder. Her chest and shins were also stinging. She recalled the day's events… Nick… Night Howler.

She calmed a bit, trying her best not to think of what happened in that warehouse. Instead, she focused on the room she was in.  
It was completely white, save for a cheap vase filled with plastic flowers in a corner and a large wooden chair on another, universal sized. She was in a hospital. Wait, that meant…

"Nick? Nick?" she called out, as if he could hear her. Harry Clawhan entered the room, removing his beige trenchcoat and hanging it on the chair, revealing his red waistcoat, tie and pistol holster.

"Hey, Judy." He said softly.

"Nick? Is he-

-He's alive." Responded the panther, a reassuring smile on his muzzle.

Judy felt an enormous breath leave her chest. And another. He was alive… She was only aware that she had started crying when she felt own tears going down the fur on her cheek.

"He's still in Intensive Care. He's breathing through a tube. They've already administered the Night Howler cure. Still, nothing's certain. He's got three broken ribs, one of them pierced his liver, and a wrench fell on his head, forming a blood clot. He's in… bad shape." Said Clawhan with regret.

"I really wish I could tell you different, Judy, but… this is a waiting game with no guarantees." He said, his compassionate blue eyes meeting her teary amethyst.

"The doctors will do all they can. He is, after all, a hero to Zootopia, as are you. But that's not what I'm here for." He said, taking out a notebook from his coat that was hung around the seat.

"Chief Bogo put me in charge of the case. I have no doubt that the guy who killed Duke Weaselton is also the guy who infected Nick and stole your tranq gun. Think you can answer some questions?" said Harry.

"And, off the record, be sure that when I get my hands on the bastard who did this, he will suffer." Said the panther through gritted teeth, his predatorial eyes sparkling dangerously.

"Good." Responded Judy. That zebra would get what was coming to him… Clawhan smiled in return.

"Right. First off, why did you go to the warehouse? You were supposed to just patrol Downtown." Began Clawhan. Judy tensed as she tried her best to recollect the day's events without bursting into tears.

"Well, we were just patrolling as usual, and Weaselton called on Nick's phone. As you know, he is the one who helped us with the drug bust on Pawblo Escatbar, he is… _was_ , one of ZPD's most trustworthy informants. He told us that some of the goons who weren't present when we did the bust were still dealing out of that warehouse. So we…" she let silence fill the void. She remembered just how nervous Duke sounded, but she also remembered picking up with her superior hearing slight shuffling, as if there was someone else with Duke, but she thought that maybe it was just a passer-by. Stupid, stupid, stupid…

"He… he sounded nervous and… *sniff*, I also heard… sounds around him…" she said as tears pooled in her eyes.

"I should have realized it was all a trap… Then we wouldn't have…" the dam finally broke as she put head in her paws and began sobbing. She slowed down upon feeling the panther's large comforting paw on her good shoulder.

"Hey, hey… It wasn't your fault, Officer Hopps. You couldn't have known. You had to go there." Said Clawhan as softly as his raspy voice would allow.

"That's not all, Clawhan!" sobbed Judy. "When… when we got in… I told him to split up to cover more ground. I never should have left him! What kind of cop leaves their partner!? And later, when Nick was fighting that zebra, I heard faint crashing, but I ignored it! Whatever way you put it, it's my fault!" she sobbed.

Clawhan placed his notebook and pen on the bedside table and simply held Judy tighter, careful to avoid her injuries.

"Judy… there's no point in playing the blame game. You did nothing wrong. He did nothing wrong. The only who can be blamed for what happened is that… that filth who infected Nick!" spat Clawhan with venom as he almost unsheathed his claws in pure anger, but he managed to stop himself. Given that he was hugging Judy, his paws on her back, that was a very fortunate thing.

Judy calmed after a while. Harry Clawhan wasn't used to comforting people, heck, he wasn't used to being friendly in the first place. He had thought that he had left his soft side behind together with his wife in the grave, but Nick and Judy opened his eyes.  
With them he felt… he felt as if he had a family again. He felt as if they were brought to him by God as the children that he couldn't have. And if that was the case, he had to protect them, to be with them in their toughest times.

"You don't have to talk today, Hopps. I can come tomorrow, or even next week if you like." Said the panther to the sobbing bunny.

"No. The sooner you get that bastard, the better." Said Judy. Judy continued to tell him about how she called Nick via radio as soon as she heard the gunshots but received no response, how she then called for backup, coming to the point where she entered the room in the basement where Nick was.

"As soon as I entered the room where I had deduced Nick was, the perp hit me in the back. I don't know how I didn't pass out from the pain, he hit me on a pressure point. He must have extensive experience in martial arts. I tell you, my vision was blurry, but I focused and I saw him." Said Judy with determination.

Clawhan scribbled "Suspect Description" on his notebook. A portrait sketch artist would make a better job of giving him an idea how the perp looked like, but for now, he would settle for this.

"Describe him." Said Clawhan, clutching his pen tightly. _God help me not break the pen in two._ Thought the panther. Just thinking about the animal who did this to Nick and Judy made him mad with rage, actually putting on paper what he looked like may have sent him over the edge.

"-Well, he was a zebra. Pretty short for his species, but pretty stocky for a zebra. He was wearing… a stealth suit. It looked pretty damn professional, like something a spy would wear.

-Or an assassin." Said Clawhan, continuing to scribble his notes. The zebra being a spy or a hitman correlated with his high martial arts expertise.

"His eyes were… almost completely black. Just two black beads. Freaked me out." She continued.

"-And across his right eye was a scar.

-A scar… claw or blade?" asked Clawhan.

"I'm not sure, my vision was blurry from pain, but I think it was a clawmark." She said.

"That's all you could see?" asked Clawhan.

"Well, yes, except for one thing." To the panther's surprise, Judy cracked a little smile.

"There was a little bit of blood on the corner of his mouth from recent trauma." She said satisfied. Harry returned the smile. _Nice work, Wilde._ He thought. Nick hadn't gone down without a fight…  
Clawhan had been Nick's CQC instructor at the Academy, and Nick was one of the best students he's ever had, able to take down even the toughest of animals. One of Nick's first arrests were two Siberian Tigers graffiting a wall, and Nick took them both down before Judy even got out of the car. If this zebra was able to take him down, then he was beyond well trained in paw-to-paw combat. Again, most likely a professional hitman, or at least someone with that sort of background.

"Right. Well, I guess that's it. Officially, I'm also supposed to take your statement about how Nick… attacked you, but I won't put you through reliving that." He said, seeing Judy clutching her blankets, her eyes threatening to spill more tears. Clawhan put his notebook in his coat pocket and sat on the bed near Judy. Thankfully, she had been put in a bed ten times her size, so he was able to do that fairly easily.

"Remember, Judy, don't blame yourself, and whatever you do, don't hate yourself. It will do nothing but pull you further into the pit. Don't make the same mistake I did." He said. The bunny turned to him with a confused look.

"When my wife died." He explained. He had never told her or Nick how his wife had died, he had just showed the picture in his wallet of Isabelle a couple of times. But, now, she deserved that much…

"Ten years ago I solved a murder case. It was gang related, a couple of weasels were shot to death in the derelict building where they hung out and got high. Turns out, one of them sprayed their gang mottos on a rival's turf, a hyena gang, and then one of the leaders got his Uzi and blasted the poor weasels, catching them with their pants down while they were having Acid LSD trips. Think they didn't even realize what was going on when the hyena broke in." Clawhan chuckled humorlesly at that.

"Anyway, I was put on the case, and it was pretty easy to track down the hyena. He had motive, opportunity, and Ballistics matched the shells to his custom-made Uzi. I mean, who commits murder with a unique, custom-made gun? Dumbass. Well, suffice to say, he got the electric chair for double murder." Said Clawhan.

"But, the other gang leader, his brother, well, suffice to say, he wasn't too happy with me being the reason his brother got fried. He… set up a revenge plan." Harry's voice broke ever so slightly, and Judy squeezed his massive paw in an effort to comfort him. She had a pretty good idea where this was headed…

"A week after his brother was executed, he planted a pipe bomb in my car set to blow when the key was turned, well, him or one of goons, to this day I'm not sure, but bottom line, he wanted me dead." As he said this, the panther turned his head away from Judy. The young bunny tried putting her paw around the panther's waist, well, as much as his size would allow it. He had never seen tough-as-nails Harry Clawhan this… broken before. He seemed on the verge of crying as his posture tensed and his voice broke.

"And _… it wasn't me who got in the car that day_." He said, his watery blue eyes meeting Judy's. Judy gasped.

"Oh… Harry… I'm so sorry…" she said, not knowing what else to say.

"I woke up that day with a fever, so I called in sick. That morning my wife offered to do the shopping. I insisted that I should go, I had… something they call a 'premonition', but she insisted, after all, I was sick. She was always so caring… so I accepted." Continued the panther, misty eyes looking away from Judy into nothingness.

"The moment she walked out, I had this urge to call her back. I just _felt_ that something was off. I waved it off as just an effect of the fever. But then I…" Clawhan choked a sob.

"… I heard the explosion…" he said whispering, wiping his eyes with his sleeve. Judy couldn't believe that she saw Clawhan crying. Harry Clawhan, the toughest cop in the precinct, the one who had the reputation of being even more stoic and tough than Chief Bogo, was crying openly in front of her. She did nothing but rub his back as she listened carefully that no one entered the room: she knew that Harry wouldn't want anyone to know that he was this emotional in front of a bunny.  
She didn't know what to say. What do you say to someone who has held ten years' worth of grief and guilt inside them without confiding in to anyone?  
What do you say to someone who lost the love of their life in the blink of an eye?  
What do you say to someone when you know that you are the _first person_ to ever hear of their darkest thoughts and demons?

"Oh, Clawhan… It wasn't your fault." She said, mentally scolding herself the next second. _Really, Judy, that's all you have to say?_

"No, it wasn't. My wife wouldn't have been much better off if I had been the one to get in the car either, she loved me as much as I loved her. But… I spent the next ten years blaming myself for it and thinking of myself as the lowest piece of filth on the planet. I became the most insufferable cop in the precinct. Revenge isn't much better either.  
The day after the funeral, I went straight to the gang hangout and I… killed them all. Chief Bogo wrote it off as self-defense to help me." Said Clawhan, looking distantly.

"And what did it solve? Did killing a bunch of poor misguided youngsters bring my wife back ? Most of whom had most likely had nothing to do with her death? It did nothing but drag me deeper into the pit. And by taking revenge, I was no better than the murderer himself. He killed my wife to take revenge over his brother, and then, I killed him and all his acolytes to take my own revenge. What does that make me, if not a despicable hypocrite?" He said, his blue eyes burning with… Judy wasn't even sure what to call his misty gaze.

Hateful? Determined? Longing?

She knew that he had most likely never talked to _anyone_ about this in all the ten years since it happened. It made her realize just how much she and Nick mattered to the middle-aged panther detective.

"And I was just… stuck in that pit of filth I myself had created. A man with no family, no friends, who became what he had sworn to destroy when he joined the ZPD. And then you two came along." He said looking at Judy with a smile.

A _smile_ … She had seen him smile before, sure, but this smile was more than just a greeting or a means of respect.  
It was a way to say "thank you" for bringing his life back… It was now Judy's turn to comfort the panther. She was the first he had allowed to see him cry, the first whom he had trusted with confessing his darkest demons. She had to do this much.

"Miss Hopps?" came a voice as a nurse opened the door, a hazel-eyed young otter.

"Sir, I'll have to ask you to leave." She said to the towering panther.

"Take care, Judy." Said Clawhan with one final, quick hug as he ruffled his coat and left.

"How are you feeling, Miss Hopps?" asked the nurse. How she was feeling?  
Crushed, hopeless, guilty and angry came to mind.

And Nick…

"I'm alright. Just a little sore." She said.

"-Do you wish me to call your family or-

-NO!" responded Judy quickly. The last thing she wanted was her parents to know that she was gravely injured in the line of duty.  
Not to mention by Nick… Nick and her parents got on well after Judy introduced him, especially when her parents found out how much Nick helped Judy and how he put himself in danger for her to help her solve the missing mammals case.

She didn't want them to think any less of Nick because of this… She didn't _anyone_ to blame Nick for this.  
It was enough that she had to remember him like that for the rest of her life…

"Very well. You should be in walking condition within a week. Most of your injuries are just flesh wounds, just don't move too much and let the stitches heal the injury. However, your left shoulder was slightly dislocated when your partner…" the otter let silence fill the void. It seemed she was just as aware as Judy how much this will affect her emotionally, and that the memories will burn stronger than any scar she will have because of this. She didn't need to be reminded that Nick was the one who tried to mangle and feast on her corpse…

"Your partner is stable, we've administered the Night Howler cure, but he's still in intensive care. As your visitor may have told you, he has a blood clot in his brain formed from when he launched himself in the shelves and several broken ribs and internal ruptures. He will have to pull through multiple surgeries. I'm afraid that nothing is certain, Miss Hopps." Said the otter with a compassionate hazel gaze.

"Can I see him?" asked Judy. The otter nodded.

"Sure. Just wait for me to get a wheelchair. Best you don't move much." The trip to Intensive Care seemed unreal, like something out of an unclear dream. She could only remember getting on the wheelchair and seeing nothing but white for… she couldn't tell how long she took to get to Nick.

 _"Nick… don't blame yourself…" she said as Nick took another deliberate cruel step to her, his growls making her insides vibrate.  
Gone was his sly emerald gaze.  
Gone was the all-knowing smirk.  
Gone was the fox she loved._

"Nick… I love you." She said this for the first time.

The first time… and the last…

Why? Why had she never had the courage to tell him how much he meant to her? Would he even remember what she said now once the Night Howler wore off? And even if he did, it would do nothing but strengthen his guilt that he killed someone who loved him…

Judy shook her head and gasped. She was getting lost in memories. She needed to stop thinking about that. Nick was alright now… Only that he was _anything but alright…_ Judy was only aware that they had reached Nick's room when the wheelchair stopped.

"He's scheduled for a surgery to drain the blood clot in his brain an hour later, so you'll have to be brief." Said the otter as she opened the door.

Judy almost screamed.

Inside the small white room was only a bed, a heartbeat monitor as well as multiple bags containing medicines connected to IV tubes. A small white bedside table with a flowerless purple vase was the only decoration, four chairs, for all animal sizes next to the radiator for any visitors, big or small. A window with the blinds drawn, looking out into the bustling nightlife of Zootopia, skyscraper lights and car headlights conquering the few stars there were. And in the bed was Nick.

 _Nick…_ All that was visible of him was his head and upper shoulders. A breathing tube was jammed straight through his mouth.  
His chest rose and fell at regular, artificial intervals with a shaky motion. His head was taped all around his scalp, small spots of blood visible through the bandages.  
Two IV tubes were in his right wrist, each connected to a different bag of medication. The heartbeat monitor beat way too slowly.  
There was a long beep, then a two second pause.  
Again, and again. 30bps read the monitor.

It tore Judy's heart from her chest. Her tears returned and she slowly rose up from the wheelchair, refusing to be helped up. She winced as pain erupted from her ankles, where Nick had clawed her.

 _No,_ she thought, _It wasn't Nick who hurt me. It was that draconic zebra. Nick would never hurt me._ She tried drumming into her brain.

Taking small, careful steps, she reached Nick's bed. Gone was the smirk. Gone was the emerald gaze. Gone were the jokes and jovial attitude. Nick Wilde was but a wreck of his former self.

"Nick…" she said as she stroked his fuzzy ears. She didn't know what to say. What do you say to someone who nearly killed themselves in order to protect you? She knew that Nick couldn't hear her, but… she had to tell the fox she loved _something_.

"Please don't leave me. You've always been a stubborn fox. Don't you dare not be stubborn enough to stay alive." She said.

"He'll make it, Judy. He won't give up on you." Said a deep voice behind her. It was Harry Clawhan.

"Just wanted to say goodbye to Nick before I left." Said the panther.

"This won't stop him. He's tougher than he looks. You know, once when we sparred, he kicked me in the shins so hard I had to walk with a limp for two days." Said Harry with a smirk, trying to light up the mood. Judy's ears stopped being droopy and she smiled. _A genuine smile_.

"I know." She said. Clawhan was taken aback.

"You… know?" he repeated dumbly.

"He taped a video recorder to the wall and filmed your sparring match. Sent it to me and every other cop he knew while he was in the Academy. Half the precinct knows you got your tail whooped by a fox a quarter your size." She said chuckling. Harry laughed and walked over to the comatose fox.

"Nick Wilde… if you weren't half dead already, I'd kick your ass for that." Said the panther, causing both Judy and the nurse to laugh.

The panther looked fondly at the bunny and the fox. His _family_. You could put them down, but they'll keep getting up. And he'll be alongside them through it all…

* * *

A black luxury Sedan sped through the outskirts of Zootopia. If anyone were to glance at the driver, a zebra in an expensive tailored suit wearing equally expensive dark sunglasses, they would have thought that he was probably a young successful businessman or some city boy.  
They couldn't have been further from the truth.

The zebra took out his silk handkerchief and dabbed his teeth once again. When he was done, the fabric was stained with blood.  
Nick Wilde sure had put up a better fight than he had expected from the scrawny fox he had muzzled in his childhood, he'd give him that much. The zebra smirked when he thought about the guilt that would eat at the fox's soul.  
This is why the rich assassin prided himself with being a sociopath: he was free from all emotion.

Guilt, caring, joy, sadness, fear… all they did was drag you down. Once you were free of all emotion, you could do whatever you set your mind to, without being stopped by pathetic obstacles like guilt or remorse. This incident wouldn't do much to aid his plans: the grand scheme was still being developed, but it would be revenge for what they had done to their plans ten months ago, and it would also set public doubt on predators being savages once again, even though not by much.

"You were one of us, Officer Hopps. You could have joined us. Pity, you could have been a valuable asset." Thought the assassin as he left the city limits onto the national road, steering away from the highway.

His modern mansion was completely white on the outside, resembling two trapezoids stacked one on top of the other. A hedge maze with a fountain in the centre was the outside of the complex.  
This was a rather unusual place for an assassin to live. That's because the zebra wasn't just an assassin. He owned several multimillion dollar businesses, had politicians and world leaders in his pocket and was arguably one of the most influential animals on the globe, despite the fact that very few mammals actually knew of his existence.  
With his influence, he could have at any time ordered one of his underlings to do a "job", be it assassination, data-theft, burglary or whatever, as most of them were ex-cops, or even ex special forces or spies gone rogue. But he did most of these jobs himself. Not because he had to, if he wished so, he could have spent the rest of his life in the lap of luxury, only being the spider at the centre of his criminal network. He did these because, first of all, that way he could make sure the job went smoothly, and second, because he _enjoyed it…_

He enjoyed the thrill of the chase, the pleasure of killing, the power over others… For him, it made no difference if he killed a fly or a cub. Except, perhaps, that killing the cub may have actually caused pleasure.

Despite the fact that he had no morals, and he knew it, he liked to think of himself as the sight to a better future. He wished to mold everything into perfection, to build something beautiful out of the world's ugliness.  
The motto he lived by was "The ends justify the means" the ancient saying engraved over the massive fireplace in his living room. The steel and plexiglass gates opened automatically, the automated cameras detecting his trace.

This trick couldn't have worked for anyone else. If another animal tried using his car to enter his complex without him in it, the defense system would have blown them to bits in the next second.

"Have you had a good day, sir?" asked Wesley, his butler and bodyguard as he exited the car. Wesley was a towering, muscular horse with jet-black hide. His ancestry was revealed by his polite, British accent. Having served for five years in the British Army, he defected to become a mercenary and hitman for two years. It was then that The Zebra found him and offered him this position.  
Wesley was his most trusted confidante, his best and most skilled field agent and the only one he could actually call "friend".

"You have no idea." Answered the zebra smiling, removing his sunglasses, revealing his scar. Wesley busied himself with taking out the bag of equipment from his employer's car and parking it.

"Sir. He is waiting for you. Leland." Said Wesley, opening the door for the zebra as soon as he was finished with the car.

"Very well." Said the zebra as he went inside his ultramodern home. The huge living room's walls were completely white, with the occasional modern art piece hung on them.  
The thick black carpet contrasted nicely from the walls and the light-coloured paintings.  
A chandelier with a square, chrome pattern hung proudly from the celling.  
Two spacious, black leather sofas with a grey chrome coffee table on which there were several beverages with glasses next to them arranged in perfect symmetry was the only visible furniture in the massive room.

But by far the most shocking "decoration" was the tiger skin rug spread between the two long sofas. Having another animal as decoration or food was considered the most disgusting thing possible, in both Zootopia and the wide world. Even the most hateful of bigots cringed in shock when they heard that such things were still practiced on other species by psychopaths.  
Only that this wasn't a serial killer, but a self-proclaimed philanthropist and visionary.  
The tiger had once been a hitman sent here by the Triads of Hong Paw after the zebra three years ago. In his twisted mind, the zebra actually considered that he had made this Triad a favour by allowing him to decorate the home of the most important mammal in the world.

He considered him honourable, for a predator, as he had actually put up an incredible fight, hence his scar. For that same reason, he had never undergone plastic surgery to remove the scar, he wished to remember a worthy adversary.

On the couch sat an elderly badger in an exquisite suit. He always made a point out of wearing a suit that matched his mood. The fact that he was wearing a black suit, black shirt and red tie gave the zebra a pretty good idea of what was coming.

"Leland." Agnoledged the zebra as he took a seat on the opposite couch. He undid the lid of a whiskey decanter and poured himself a quarter of a glass.

"I'd offer you some, but it's very rare and expensive." Said the assassin quietly. It was his first step of dominance over the elderly badger.

"Doesn't matter. Wesley's supplied me with plenty of wine. I sure as hell needed a drink after I heard of what you've done." Said the badger darkly, draining the contents of his wine glass down his throat.

"So, you come into my house unannounced and start drinking my wine. I trust you have a reason?" said the zebra almost casually, taking a sip of his strong drink. Despite his almost casual speech, it was enough to make the badger gulp, but he regained his composture in the next second.

"Do you really think that killing Judy Hopps and Nick Wilde in this manner will do anything? Oh yes, it will do something, it will make the public aware that the Night Howler serum is back into the wrong hands again and they'll brace themselves for what's to come! And you've killed Duke Weaselton!? Are you out of your mind!?" ranted the badger.

BANG!

The zebra slammed his hoofed fist into the solid table. The badger jolted and screamed, cowering into the sofa. The zebra drained the rest of his drink and placed the glass back in its place.

"Have I… ever done anything and not be aware of the consequences, Leland?" asked the zebra calmly with a whispery, calm voice that would have frightened anyone more than if he had shouted at the top of his lungs.

The badger regained his calm (even if slightly) and tried to speak again.

"-Duke Weaselton knew the gangs of Zootopia inside and out. We could have used him!

-Used him?" the zebra scoffed.

"A bootleg DVD salesman who sang like a canary as soon as Mr. Big hung him over some cold water? He couldn't have been trusted. Especially with his knowledge that I was guilty of Wilde and Hopps' deaths. And in case you forgot, Night Howler isn't the main point of our plan. Anyone injected with the cure is immune. Even if they force all predators to take immunity shots, it won't matter, because that's not our plan. Besides, I already have all I need." Said the zebra. Leland scoffed.

"-You have all you need? I'm sorry, Martin, but you're not as powerful as you think. Bellwether, who I might remind you, was your boss until recently, is not at the helm anymore, and you hardly own anything of the city, save for a few dirty cops who couldn't shoot the broad side of a barn and some low-level members of the City Hall, whom the mayor wouldn't trust with wiping his paws.  
Not to mention, Mr. Big owns all the rackets and corrupt politicians in the city, and he's not going to hand them over. And I should remind you, he's a crime boss in name only, he _helps_ the city. Hell, he worked with the cops more times than once! Not to mention that he has a small army of polar bears and dirty (and not so dirty) cops. You're only in charge because Bellwether was dumb enough to fail.  
But at least she was calculated. You screw up one more time, I'm out.

-Oh?" asked Martin, leaning forward in a fluid, serpent-like manner, causing the old badger to once again cower.

"This meeting is over, Leland. Thank you for your… opinion, but I know what I'm doing. Wesley will show you out." Said Martin. The badger sighed in relief at the zebra's lack of reaction from his rant.

But, the assassin was not done. He was just waiting for Leland to step off his carpet, he didn't want it ruined.  
In the meantime, he removed his suit jacket, waistcoat and tie, he didn't want those ruined either. Wesley pretended to be holding the door open for the badger, ignoring his boss who was approaching the badger, hooves clenched.

Leland was not to be trusted anymore…

Martin had noticed his lack of loyalty in his speech. So far, Leland had been annoying and obnoxious, yes, but he was loyal and intelligent. But now, it was clear that he was done with this cause, Martin could see it in his eyes, the moment a rival offered him a deal, he'd take it…

"Leland. You forgot to shake paws." He said calmly.

"Oh, I'm so-" he was cut off by a powerful hoofed kick to his face bringing down the much shorter badger.

The snapping of bone was audible and blood seeped onto the wooden floor. One more well calculated stomp was enough to finish him off.

Enough to kill him, not enough to spray onto the carpet. Wesley didn't even flinch as his friend and employer beat the poor badger to death. He saw that on an almost weekly basis.  
When he was done, he walked over to the much shorter zebra, careful to avoid the blood pool and handed him a handkerchief to wipe himself.

"Take his body and throw it in front of his house. Make it look like a hit and run by a drunk driver." Said Martin, wiping the blood of his clothes and face.

"And tell my tailor I need a new shirt and trousers." He said, once it was clear there was no way he was getting all the blood and brains out of his clothes.

"Certainly, sir." Said Wesley, bowing. Martin poured himself another whiskey and opened his laptop.

He smirked as he browsed through the files labelled "Nanotechnology".

Soon, Bellwether's plans would be completed by his successor. And in a much better way than the sheep could have ever dreamed of.

Segregation of not only Zootopia, but the world…

* * *

 _ **Alright, guys, how was that for a villain reveal? No, seriously,I want to know if he's good enough as a villain because I fear I may have stepped into James Bond territory (and not in a good way). Anyway, I tried making him like a combination between Wilson Fisk from Daredevil and Jim Moriarty from BBC Sherlock.**_

 ** _And speaking of Daredevil, did you guys catch some of the name references in the last part?_**

 ** _Now, I would like to make some special shoutouts:_**  
 ** _1-NightsAnger- He is the one that convinced me to continue writing two years when I was only beginning. He has only one HTTYD story called "In Darkness" but it's very good, emotional, character-driven and everything else you like in a good fic. If you like HTTYD, I highly suggest you check it out._**

 ** _2-Blenderguy15-He helped me via PMs with this chapter and I'm sure this is the beginning of a great writer partnership between us. He has one story called "The Strongest Bonds", a Nick\Judy fic and it's honestly one of the best fanfictions I've ever read._**  
 ** _He also has a YouTube channel of the same name that desperately needs subscribers. Come on, he deserves them!_**

 ** _Now, I have a pretty good idea of my next chapter, so I'll most likely update within the week_**

 ** _Also, if you're wondering why my story showed up as updated earlier, it was because I had accidentally published this chapter unedited and took it down immediatly as I figured it out (special thanks to ADead Missionary for bringing it to my attention)_**


	4. Chapter 4- We're Not The Only Ones

_**100 followers! WOOOOO!**_

 _ **Thank you to anyone and everyone who favourited, followed and reviewed! You guys are awesome! :D**_

 _ **I would also like to give a special shoutout to Blenderguy15 and to MajorWolf, the two guys who gave the most positive, yet critical and analytical reviews and also helped me via PMs. You two guys are amazing! :D  
**_

* * *

He was in darkness. Just darkness.

No, it was more than just darkness. It was a void of fear and madness.  
It was a place where he couldn't move, think, talk or even acknowledge his surroundings, not that there were any. All that he was aware of was that this place was somewhere from where he needed to get away quickly.  
He needed to escape or else… Actually, he wasn't sure what would happen. He didn't know what was chasing him or even if he was being chased in the first place.

But… something _had_ happened. Something terrible and he had to-

"Hey, Nick." Said a familiar comforting female voice. Nick? Who was Nick? Was it him? It wasn't like he could remember anything. He suddenly felt a jolt of comfort fill his body.  
He wasn't aware that this was when Judy began stroking his ears and kissing his forehead.

"The doctors, they…" the owner of the voice choked a sob.

"They say you're… getting worse, but I don't believe them! You were just getting better after they removed the blood clot!" it was then that Judy couldn't take it anymore and buried her face into his furry neck and sobbed her heart out. Nick couldn't realize who this girl was, but he knew that he had to protect her, he realized this even through the realm of coma. He realized that he loved her… Judy… The name came back to him… He felt the need to place his paw over her to comfort, to tell her that everything will be okay, that he will be fine…

"Judy! Judy! I'm here!" he yelled happily. Wait, he could talk now? His environment was still the same void of dark madness. But… he could talk. Maybe he could talk to her. Soothe her. Make her stop beating herself over this.

"It's my fault… if I had listened more carefully to Weaselton, this never would have happened!" She sobbed.

No! That wasn't true! Whatever it was that had happened, Nick couldn't place his paws on exactly _what_ had happened, but he knew that it wasn't Judy's fault, and that he had to make his little bunny cheer up.  
Wait, what the hell was a bunny?  
Screw it, it wasn't like he cared, he only cared about getting to Judy, to the little bunny girl he loved.

"It wasn't your fault, Carrots!" he yelled through the dark void. He could still hear Judy's sobs and incoherent apologies and to an extent he could even feel her kisses on his forehead, the places she kissed feeling like a ray of sunshine falling on his fur on a summer day. She still couldn't hear him and she would keep blaming herself…

"LET ME GET TO HER!" he yelled through the void. He wasn't sure whom he was yelling yet, heck, he wasn't even sure if there was anyone to yell at in the first place, but it was all he could do to. As Judy's heart wrenching sobs intensified, he knew he was failing. She would continue to blame herself…

"No…" he whispered in defeat, falling to his knees. Wait, how did he fall to his knees, he didn't have a body, yet at the same time… he did.  
This twisted place of madness knew no rules.

Nick placed his head in his paws and began crying himself, almost in tandem with Judy's sobs. He could do nothing else…

* * *

Judy Hopps eventually quit sobbing in Nick's neck after a while, even though she wanted to remain there forever...  
It was useless… what the doctors had told her… Her heart had been filled with hope when she heard that the operation to remove the blood clot in his brain had been successful, but since then he had just been getting worse… She couldn't lose him.  
Not after she realized that she had to tell him that she loved him… And she knew that he also loved her… The way he broke through the Night Howler's cruel effects so many times, the way he was _crying_ as he was struggling to regain control over his primordial instincts, and of course, the way he sacrificed himself after she said that she loved him…

"Well… Goodbye Nick… I have to get back to my room… be strong for me, my love." Her chest tightened as the words "my love" left her lips. She wondered if she would ever _truly_ get to tell that to Nick. She wondered if she would ever get to live with him as lovers, if she would ever get to love him, because she had made the mistake of being too much of a coward to admit her feelings.  
She had merely waved it off as a passing crush, thinking that things would only be terrible if she admitted it. She had to marry a bunny, and have kits… not as many as her parents, obviously, she pictured three or four little bunnies would be enough to make her feel like a proper bunny mother while also allowing her to keep her job.

But this wasn't just a little crush… she had to nearly die in order to realize that. To realize that this was true love…  
With a fox… love is blind indeed…

However, upon getting up from the chair and fixing her sling that was around her shoulder, she noticed something in Nick's eye that hadn't been there before.

Water.

He had… cried? But how? He was in deep induced coma, there was no way in hell he was hearing her.

Or was he?

Judy smiled and genuinely laughed in joy. Nick loved her so much he would break through even half-death to let her know that he forgave her…

"You sly fox…" she whispered, kissing his forehead one final time before heading out of his room.

* * *

Everything hurt. No, it was more than just pain.  
It was more than just that simple feeling of discomfort.  
Pain, the universal sign that something is wrong with your body. It was more than just that.

Nick screamed, but it he didn't at the same time. Nothing had any logic when you were trapped in your own mind. All he felt was agony. He had to get away, to leave this place of pain… it made no sense to stay.

* * *

"We're losing him! Heart rate's out of control! Administer more dopamine! How the hell did he get so bad? He pulled through all the surgeries!" and other shouts from doctors were picked up by Judy's keen ears.

Nick was dying.

He had been rushed into a special ward with doctors following him. She had been told to wait outside, but she picked up everything that was happening inside. She almost wished she didn't have bunny ears in that moment, for she could hear every sign that Nick was dying…

Suddenly, the heartbeat monitor stopped its frantic beeping, replaced by a long, high-pitched, limitless beep.

His heart had stopped.

The doctors reacted before Judy even had time to register what was going on.

"GET THE DEFRIBILATOR!" shouted one of the doctors. Judy rushed to the door, trying the smaller entrance, designed for animals her size, but it was locked. "NICK!" she shouted. This couldn't be happening. Surely fate couldn't be this cruel, making Nick survive all his surgeries and having him _die now…_

"CLEAR!" shouted the doctor, followed by an electrical BZZT!

After pain and more pain that he had never felt before, Nick finally felt free.  
It wasn't just the lack of pain that made him happy, it was a comforting sensation he had never felt before…

 _"You fought so hard...you were so brave… but now it's the time to sleep…"_ Nick heard.

Was it him who said that or someone else? He didn't care, he was tired. He could be free of the pain, he just needed to give up and let go…

* * *

Judy gave up trying to get the door open and settled for curling up in a ball on one of the seats and listening with panted breath as the doctors vainly tried to resurrect Nick.  
The endless, long, sinister beep of the heartbeat monitor which showed only a flatline felt as if it entered Judy's ears, carving its way to her heart and slowly ripping it out.

"Please… please don't take him away from me…" she prayed. After a while, the doctors shouting "clear!" and the buzzing of the defibrillator stopped.  
The beeping of the flatline did not.  
No… Why had they stopped? Nick was still-

"Nurse, what time is it?" asked the doctor with a resigned voice of sorrow.

No…

"14:26, sir." Answered the young female antelope.

"Time of death, 14:26." Said the doctor, followed by the scribbling of a pencil on a piece of paper.

For a moment Judy couldn't register what she had heard. Her brain, even her sub-consciousness, lacked the courage to come to terms with the fact that Nick was dead…

"NO!" shouted Judy, jumping off the chair, rushing to the door. "NICK!" she screamed, throwing her meagre weight into the door. It was useless, the steel door could have stopped rhino, but she didn't care.

Nick was dead… Nick was dead…

"Madam please calm down!" came the voice of one of the hospital guards, a dark-furred wolf. He tried restraining Judy, but she instantly recalled her training, twisting his paw, kicking him in the shins and then jumping with her legs in a roundhouse kick to his ribs.  
The wolf grunted in pain and fell down, amazed by this little bunny's strength. He had been able to restrain rhinos and lions with less trouble during his short time in the hospital.  
She resumed trying to break the door down, more than likely about to hurt herself in the process.

"I'm sorry Officer Hopps." The wolf whispered as he pulled out his tranq gun and fired.  
The wolf, barely out of being a pup, signing up as a guard to raise money for his college fee, cringed as he shot the bunny who cleared the name of all predators. If it hadn't been for her, his scholarship would have never been accepted because he was a wolf, not to mention that Bellwether would have probably made sure that all predators were exiled from Zootopia or worse.  
He still remembered the way sheep, rabbit and other prey would look at him wide-eyed for a second on the street, only to cross the street away from him with their children in tow, the way everyone looked at him like a freak, a killer, a _predator…_

And now, one of the two animals who ensured that predator and prey could continue to live together in harmony, and even destroyed most animals' prejudices, was dead.

Nick Wilde was dead…

"Nick…" whispered Judy Hopps as she went unconscious.

* * *

Nick felt happiness and peace like he had never felt before. Not in his early childhood, his greatest cons, time spent with Judy or even the moment when he became a cop could compare to how peaceful he felt now.

No more pain…

He thought of his mother, of all the good he did in the short interval in which he worked on the force, he thought of Clawhauser, his antics always brightening up even the dreariest days of paperwork, he thought of Harry Clawhan, who made sure that his time in the Academy, and his time in the police by extension once Harry's suspension was over and was allowed to return, were some of the best times in his life.  
He thought of Judy, the bunny he loved and who turned his life around…

Wait, Judy… He was abandoning her.

" _I love you, Nick." she whispered tearfully just as she thought that the savage fox was about to rip her throat out…_

Nick suddenly realized just how selfish he had been.

He was abandoning Judy, his mother, Harry Clawhan, his job, Zootopia in its entirety, just because it _hurt…_ He needed to get away from here.  
Embrace the pain and roll with it.

He got up, or at least did the equivalent of that, nothing made sense when you're trapped in your own mind, pain taking over his body once again. He ignored it.  
He thought of Judy, he needed to-

A blood-curtling scream left his throat as his entire being was overwhelmed with pain. Just thinking about Judy made him claw his way out of there, little by little.

"Nick!" someone shouted. It was Judy. It was only around her that there was a little bit of light in this void of darkness and horror. He needed to reach her. The pain became irrelevant…

* * *

"Alright. Pull the plug and call the pathologist." Said the doctor, a lion with square glasses on his muzzle. He momentarily removed them to wipe his tears.  
He couldn't believe it, Nick Wilde, dead… one of the two who cleared the predators' name and ensured that all animals could continue to live in peace and harmony.

During the Night Howler Debacle, he had been fired from his position, his two years of being one of the most skilled surgeons in Zootopia General and over ten years of following his dream of becoming a doctor spending time in universities and being a resident going down the drain as most animals didn't want a predator to treat them and the director, who was a goat, didn't like that in the slightest, and fired one of his best doctors without even saying goodbye.

He still remembered the day when he was brought back after Bellwether's exposure. His colleagues had prepared a welcome back party, the first ten minutes consisting of his prey fellow doctors giving him engraved apologies for how they had shifted their view on him simply because of what they saw on the news. How they had avoided him like the plague as they were afraid he might rip their throats out and how when the director fired him, none stood up for him.

"I'm sorry, Nick Wilde." He mumbled as the nurse stretched her hoof to turn off the machines.

Beep.

The nurse gasped and stumbled a few steps backwards.

"What the hell?" said the doctor.  
Surely it couldn't be. Nick Wilde was-

Beep.

The heartbeat monitor came back to life. 10bps. 20 bps. 30 bps.

* * *

Nick couldn't even feel the pain anymore. All he felt was that he had to be by Judy's side. He couldn't abandon her.  
He suddenly felt stronger, as if life had been reinjected in him. He got up, walking on his hind paws.  
His stomach and chest once again exploded in pain, causing him to double over, but he got back up, barely a slight grimace of pain leaving his being.

He wasn't going to let himself die. He fell right next to Judy's side. The pain was gone.

"You made it, Nick. You made it." She said tearfully, cupping his face in her paws. Nick felt peace overwhelm him.

It was over… he had won… he was alive…

"Rest now." She said, kissing his forehead.

"I love you Nick." She said.

"I… love you too, Carrots…" he responded, falling unconscious even within his own mind.

* * *

Nick's eyes slowly opened, squinting against what seemed to be sunlight.

Where was he? He couldn't remember a thing. For the life of him, he couldn't remember anything.

Wait, wasn't he in a basement? Yes, and he needed to protect Judy, and to get up and finish the fight with that goddamned zebra and-

Nick froze when he remembered.

Night Howler. All he felt afterwards was a hunger he had never felt before and… the taste of blood.

Nick shot up in the bed, his ribs and insides protesting with a stabbing pain, causing him to fall back in. He remembered the taste of blood and… Judy begging for her life…

"No. "Judy!" he screamed.

He… he couldn't have… The memories were scarce, but still there somewhat. He remembered his claws digging into flesh, his fangs cracking bone, the feeling of blood rushing down his throat almost like a morbid appetizer to eating his prey…

"JUDY!" he screeched. His heart felt as if it had been replaced with a painful hunk of ice.

He had killed her… the only true friend he had ever had… And the bunny he loved…

"No…" he sobbed, looking at his own paws as if expecting them to be stained with blood.

"Judy…" he began sobbing. It was useless. She was dead… killed by him, the savage predator, the _monster…_

"Nick!" he heard. His heart froze.

But… she was dead… he had killed her… He dared to lift his face from his paws.

It was her, concerned, tear-filled, yet overjoyed amethyst eyes looking at him. His mind went blank. Had it all been just a dream? Had he actually not gone savage?

Ah, what did he care? Judy was alive… and here…

"Judy!" he said in his cracked voice, hugging her in a death-grip, right paw straight across her left shoulder.

"OWWWWW!" she moaned loudly, retracting.

"Sorry, sorry …" he stammered. Wait, why was she in so much pain? What had happened? A slow feeling of dread ascended into Nick's gut, and chest, ending with a cold shiver across his entire body.

It was then that he noticed her left paw in a sling, the bandages around her ankles…

He remembered trying to bite her neck, but ended up with her shoulder. He remembered the taste of blood as he tried to bite her arm off, her screams, and worse still, he remembered _enjoying it…_

He remembered clawing her as she tried to escape, he remembered how frightened she was, her look of betrayal and pure terror…

Judy noticed Nick's face going from glee to horror and to self-hatred. He slowly averted his eyes from her bandages to the floor. She felt her heart sink.

"-Nick… it wasn't you, it-

-Please leave me alone." He whispered, eyes closing to the point in which she could only see a string of his forest-green eyes.

"I hurt you… I… tried to kill you… please, go before I try to do it again." He said in a cracked voice that Judy barely recognized as his own.

"Nick, that wasn't you." She tried again, cupping his paws in her own.

"Yes, it was me!" he almost screamed, retracting from her.

"I tried to kill you! I was _enjoying_ it, Judy! I revelled in every single goddamn minute! Night Howler or not, I am a killer! I tried to…" he choked a sob. "… to tear your flesh off…"

"Nick! You were under the influence of Night Howler!" she said, trying to be more blunt, her sobby voice ruining it.

"You didn't know what you were doing. No one under the influence did." She said, reaching out her paw to him.

"I almost killed you! You only survived because… you fought back or something, right?" he asked.

"No." she said quickly. This was it. Time to put Nick's guilt and self-hate in its place.

"No?" he asked confused.

"No. You kept breaking through the control. You… stopped yourself from lunging at me a couple of times. You were also… crying. The whole time. No other predator who was hit by Night Howler ever managed to break through." She said, looking in his eyes as they were lighting up and looking back at her.

"You did what no other mammal ever could. You fought your own instincts. And you know how I survived? You launched yourself into some shelves just before you…" her voice trailed off as she recalled Nick's hot breath on her fur, his snarls, the way his tears were being filled with tears once again just as the Night Howler was about to take control once and for all and force him to kill his love…

"You almost died, Nick. You flatlined once, you came back on your own!" she said, her voice cracking more. It was now Nick's turn to comfort her. He wrapped his paws around her small frame as she began sobbing. She buried her face in Nick's chest.

The _real_ Nick, not some beast. The real Nick wouldn't hurt her. The real Nick was the one who had the power to push aside the Savage Fox enough to save his bunny… Nick winced as she touched some of his broken ribs, but buried the pain, determined to comfort his little dumb bunny…

"How long was I out?" he finally asked. "Two weeks." She said. His world froze. Two weeks? He had been in a coma for _two weeks?_ He could have sworn that only a minute had passed since he was defeated by that zebra in the basement.

"Well, that explains why I'm so hungry." He said. Judy chuckled as his comment and her eyes lit up, seeing the real Nick back.

Nick was back… She had made it… She still had one more thing to say. She realized she needed to say it when she thought that she would die… She wouldn't make the same mistake twice.

"I love you." She said, snuggling against his chest. Nick gasped. Love?

"I love you." She repeated, her buckteeth showing through her smile at Nick's face. Oh, she was enjoying his dumb look…

"That's what made you regain control. In the basement. I said I loved you and then you…" her voice trailed off once again, not wanting to remember Nick sacrificing himself… Nick felt a huge weight get off his heart.

She loved him too… But… he couldn't. He couldn't take her life away, it was crazy.

"I love you too. But… no. This can't work." He said, flipping away from her.

"What!? Why?" she screamed exasperated.

"Judy. I can't take your life away. Forget I said anything." He said, reaching out for the button which he figured out was to call the nurse to kick out whoever was inside. Judy caught his paw before he could do that.

"Take my life away?" she said almost angrily.

"Judy… it would ruin everything. Someday you'll meet a nice buck and I can't have you thinking about me then! You deserve a family! You don't deserve me." He said, attempting to retain a stoic face, but his eyes were filled with pain.

"Don't deserve you!? Nick, think about all you've done! All you've sacrificed! You think too low of yourself? Say that you're just another predator? That you attacked me because you _enjoyed it?_ Well, I don't believe it, because you're better than that!" she said sternly. She would happily counter his self-bashing with pure tough love. She knew it would work.

Nick didn't make eye contact as he thought of what he was about to say… it would break her heart, as well as his, but he needed to make this one last decisive argument...

"I can't give you children." He said, looking into her eyes, widened with shock and hurt.

"How will you be able to love any male bunny if we've been together, even briefly? It will bring nothing but problems to the both of us." He said, looking into Judy's tear filled pair amethysts, struggling to not break down crying.

"Judy… rabbits, they're… they're the most amazing of all animals. No matter what anyone says that they're weak, or cowards, they're wrong! They were, in many ways, just as looked down upon as foxes or hyenas. But unlike them, they didn't turn their backs on society and started petty crime. No, they made the best of it, smiled and helped the animals who did nothing but call them the bottom of the food chain. They have the most children out of any animals, yet they love them all the same. They dedicate themselves to helping the society who shuns them and to raising all their children to become whatever they want. No other animal can do that. And who am I to take away your right to continue your legacy?  
Who am I to… to take away from you what makes your kind so… special?" he asked rhetorically, looking into Judy's teary eyes as she let go of tiny sobs, threatening to break down into a crying fit. Judy wiped her eyes and put her hand on Nick's forearm, as if to make him stay.

"You'd have been willing to… let your love inside you and watch me get married and have kids while you loved me with all your heart? You were willing to go through that torture? Just because… we're not compatible?" she asked, cracked voice threating to break.

"Yes." He said, not missing a beat.

"I love you… which is why I had to let you go. Because I want what's best for you, and I can't give you that…" he said, releasing a sob at that last comment.

"You dumb, stupid fox… where'd all this talk of kids and marriage come from? And if you want to stop me from falling in love with you... you're too late, mister." she said, placing a paw on his cheek.

"I want you too, Nick. No, I… need you." She said. Nick scoffed.

"God, Judy, that sounds like something out of a bad romantic comedy." Said Nick, putting on his signature grin. Judy slapped his chest.

"I'm serious!" she said, her sadness replaced with anger.

"As for… what you said… we'll figure it out. I don't know what will happen, Nick, but I know this. I love you, you love me. And you shouldn't have kept it a secret from me." She said, inching her muzzle closer to his, amethyst eyes beaming, tears gone.  
Nick had never felt this relieved. Judy could now be with him… he no longer had to wear the mask of indifference or to convince himself every night before going to bed that their relationship would never work… They were everything they could be that could bond them further.

Partners, best friends, a pair that saved and changed Zootopia, roommates, and now, lovers.

Nick slipped his bushy tail from beneath the covers, wrapping it around the bunny from her ankles all the way to her neck. She shivered as his tail tickled her neck, his emerald eyes no longer full of tears, regret, sadness, guilt or self-hate, instead seeing love and _happiness_ inside those orbs. She stroked his head, scratching him behind the ears like a pup, earning a chuckle out of him.  
Nick could now hear her heartbeats. He didn't have bunny hearing, but being canine, he still had hearing that was greatly above average, and he could hear her little heart drumming inside her furry chest like crazy.  
Oh, who was he kidding, his pulse was out of control as well, if he had still been strapped to the heartbeat monitor, it would have beeped like a bomb about to go off.

 _"Here goes nothing."_ Thought Nick as he closed the gap, pressing his muzzle to hers.

Judy shivered and moaned into the kiss, pressing her own body closer to him, wrapping her paws around his bandaged waist. Nick winced as she squeezed his broken ribs, but he ignored it, too busy revelling in the fact that he was with her…  
He would no longer have to convince himself that she was just a passing crush, he would no longer have to crush himself by thinking that although animals got along better thanks to them, he still was a fox, and she was a bunny.  
He would no longer have to depress himself by reasoning with himself that love between them could never happen. Because it had happened.

And it was pure, absolute freedom. Their momentary kiss lasted an eternity.

They parted lips and Judy placed her head into Nick's neck, the fox stroking her ears up and down in return.

"Was that your first kiss?" she murmured into his fur. Nick scoffed.

"Why, was it really that bad?" he asked sarcastically, gently cupping her head so that she could see his con artist smirk. She chuckled.

"No. It was amazing. It's just that… this was _my_ first kiss." She said, smiling her trademark bucktooth smile. Nick's face changed from glee to shock.

"Wait… that was your… first kiss?" he asked, suddenly bursting with laughter.

"What's so funny?" asked Judy, obviously peeved.

"Well… you're a bunny!" he said, smiling so widely she was sure he was straining his jaw muscles.

"Yeah… so…?" she asked, her ecstatic expression suddenly changing to anger. She had a pretty good idea of what he would say…

"Yeah, well, bunnies… like I said in my 'oh-so-inspiring' speech, you guys really like to…" he then made an extremely rude gesture which involved sticking his index finger through a hoop created by the fingers on his other paw. Judy's jaw dropped. Saying that about bunnies was considered even more offensive than calling them "cute".

"NICHOLAS PIBERIUS WILDE!" she screamed angrily. Nick fell back in his bed, laughing so hard that his mending ribs must have hurt like hell, but he didn't seem to care.

Judy was fuming. Nick's jokes had always had a degree of snark and offensiveness, but this crossed the line. She looked around the room, filled with flower pots and gift baskets from friends and fellow officers.

She noticed the one offered by Clawhauser, containing a few boxes of donuts and some of Nick's favourite magazines.  
Magazines… She grabbed one that seemed to be a video game magazine and rolled it up angrily.

She rushed to Nick and began smacking him upside the head with it.

"Don't. Ever. Say. That. About. Bunnies. Again! Bad fox! Bad fox! Bad fox! And stop laughing!" she yelled, about to smack him again.

Nick was barely able to control his laughter enough to catch her "weapon" and throw it aside him on the bed.

"Oh, shut up, dumb bunny." He said, disarming her. She was about to yell at him again, but his gaze stopped her. The simple fact that he was looking at her with those orbs and a gentle seductive smile froze her. He slowly reached out and gently tugged on her right ear until it was next to his muzzle.

"Let's give you a proper first kiss, then, Officer Hopps." He whispered. He chuckled as he saw her blush so much that it was visible through her ridiculously soft fur.  
Nick leaned forward once again.

Sensations she had never felt before raced through her body as Nick kissed her once again.  
Her mouth moved on her own in tandem with his experienced kiss.

Everything around her was blurred. The sound of cars honking, engines rumbling and muffled chatter from below continued, as the window was open, but they might as well have stopped and never resumed again for the two now confessed lovers.

The way he was so subtly bringing her soft body closer to him by practically guiding her with his paws, the way she was searching for that sweet spot behind his ears as she was scratching his head, his left paw playing with her long ears… was too much for the both of them. Nothing could have interrupted them… except for the sound of the door opening.

They both turned around and gasped. A lion with glasses whom Judy recognized as the doctor who treated Nick and an antelope nurse with short horns sat in the doorway. Instead of the shocked expressions they expected, they were both smiling warmly. The lion laughed as he put one paw around the nurse's waist. Wait, what?

"Told you we weren't the only ones." He said to her. He then turned to the fox and the bunny, whose mouths were still wide open in shock and embarrassment.

"You two, once Officer Wilde is healed, we ought to go on a double date." He said winking, holding the antelope closer.

* * *

 _ **What's this? A chapter ending without a cliffhanger from me?  
Yeah, I wanted to end on a high note, for once. Don't get used to it, Nick's suffering is far from over. I'm such a sick bastard! XD**_

 ** _Also, this is the very first time I have ever written a proper romance\kissing scene. Did I do okay?_**  
 ** _Because although I have nearly two years of writing under my belt, everytime I post a chapter I'm afraid it's shit. I have some of the worst Writer Self-Doubt you'll see._**

 ** _I'm also planning posting my own Zootopia Oneshots series._**

 ** _If you have any ideas or suggestions, feel free to leave them in your reviews or to PM me._**

 ** _Also. please note that I have changed my username to WildeHoppsOfBakerStreet (this combines my love of Zootopia with my love of Sherlock Holmes XD)_**


	5. ANNOUNCEMENT

_**Hello guys! Sorry to everyone who clicked on this expecting a new chapter.  
I'm sorry, but a combination of Writer's Block and my Bacalaurate (GCSE) exams being merely weeks away have made me too busy to be able to focus on this story.  
This story is now on hiatus for about three weeks to a month. I know, I know, but I have to focus on exams as they will literally decide my future (sort of).**_

 _ **HOWEVER!**_

 _ **I have published a collection of Zootopia oneshots called "Fox And Bunny Stew" (thanks to NightsAnger for suggesting this hilarious name!). I hope I may be able to occasionally post a story there until everything is resolved.**_

 _ **Therefore, until next time, make sure to check out "Fox and Bunny Stew"! Read and review guys, first chapter's up, you can find it on my profile! :D**_

 _ **See you soon!**_


	6. Chapter 5- Silence Of The Lamb

**_Hello everyone!  
Sorry it took so long to update, but I have exams and once they're out of the way for good, I'll be able to upload regularly, both here and on my oneshot collection.  
As I didn't have time to write, this chapter may seem rushed, even though it's my second longest chapter so far._**

* * *

Harry Clawhan barely held the urge to run through the hospital as he was heading towards Nick's room. He couldn't believe that Nick Wilde was finally back... only a few days after flatlining. You could bring that sly fox down, but God love him, he'll get back up no matter what. The panther got out of the elevator, going to the room where the receptionist had told him Nick was at.

As soon as he approached the door, however, he heard the sound of a woman crying. What was going on? Wait, was Nick still in bad shape? Had he gone comatose again? Or worse still, had he-

"It's alright, mom, it's alright… I'm fine now. I'll be out in a few days." Came Nick's voice from behind the door. Ah.

Harry knocked on the door twice and let himself in before he could receive a response. The hospital room was airy and spacious, a testament to Zootopia's top-notch healthcare system. The room was filled with gift baskets and flower bouquets provided by officers, friends and family, the all-important "Get well soon!" card plastered on every single one of them. In the bed sat Nick Wilde.

It was _him_ , no IV tubes, to breathing devices, no heartrate monitors to remind him that he was just on the brink of death. Well, nothing, save for the bandages around his head and his waist, but those were ready to be removed at any moment. An elderly fox was hugging him tightly, sobbing softly while Nick was rubbing her shaking back . Judy was also behind Nick's mother, rubbing her shoulders in an effort to comfort her.

Clawhan noted that Judy was no longer in her hospital gown, but rather a blue ZPD t-shirt and dark blue jeans. She was out of the hospital, her superficial wounds owed to her fox's bravery and strength to break through the control.

"I… I was so worried, Nicky! I thought that you were gonna… I came in every day and you were breathing through a tube!" Rose Wilde kept sobbing as she said this to her son.

"It's alright, mom. I'm fine. You know what they say: what doesn't kill me makes me stronger." Nick soothed.

"He'll be out in a couple of days." Added Judy smiling. Rose reluctantly left Nick's side and also gave Judy a hug.

"Thank you for looking out for him." She said. At this, Judy's ears went droopy. She still considered herself responsible for what had happened…

"Oh, hey Harry!" greeted Nick. His sly smile was still there, as if nothing had happened. He's all wide smiles and casual greetings. Still the same old Nick. At least Harry hoped so…

"Hey, cubs! Miss Wilde, good to see you again!" said Clawhan.

"Inspector Clawhan! He got well so quickly! Oh my dear Nicky, such a strong boy…" said Miss Wilde tearfully. After kicking her son out when he was eighteen and reconnecting with him ten years later, she took every opportunity to spend time with her crook-turned-cop son. And after finding out that he had nearly died... Harry couldn't imagine what it was like for Rose to come inside the ward, looking at her son, connected to a dozen different devices just to keep him breathing.

And he didn't want to think of what she thought when she was told that Nick had gone savage and attempted to kill Judy… well, at the very least, she now wants to see the animal who did this to Nick and Judy strung up as much as he does, Harry thought.

Clawhan nodded and squeezed the old vixen's shoulder in an attempt to stop her crying.

"It's alright, Miss Wilde. He's fine now. I have to question him, and officer Hopps may be able to provide further assistance. I'll have to ask you to leave." Said the panther.

"Sure, I've already been around for hours. I'm sure Nicky is tired of me fussing over him." She said jokingly, but judging by Nick's face, she wasn't far from the truth.

"Clawhan, buddy! So good to see you!" said Nick, shaking the panther's massive paw.

"Heard they put you in charge of the case! Did you find anything?" asked Nick.

"Not much. Judy described the suspect, but no luck so far. And I'm sure that the Growl Street wolf gang was involved." Said Clawhan.

"Those small timers? How come?" asked Judy.

"-Well, think about it. That neighbourhood is their hangout. Particularly the warehouse, they use it to stash their drugs. But it was empty then. No sign of the gang members or any guns or drugs. It had been cleared out. A few days after the… incident, my informants come to me saying the Growl Street wolves got back in the warehouse. You can bet that the zebra, whoever he is, bribed the gang into leaving the place empty for the day. In that case, he told them as little as possible, but it's a start. Now… Judy briefly described the suspect, but I'm sure that-

-I can do _more_ than describe him." Growled Nick. Clawhan was taken aback by this, but he quickly fished his notebook and pencil out of his trenchcoat, readying himself.

"The zebra's name is Sebastian Stripes." Said Nick with conviction. Clawhan's mind raced. How did the fox know him? Was this someone whom Nick had pissed off during his conman years? It was likely, the dumb fox had made a lot of enemies during his hustling years, and when in crime you will make some friends and piss off the rest whatever you do, but it was uncommon for zebras to take part in organized crime.

"He is the zebra who… led the gang of cub scouts." Said Nick with conviction. Clawhan nearly dropped his pen. What? From all those years ago? Nick had told the panther about the scout incident after he had a brief panic attack when Harry used a muzzle to restrain a suspect. Was Nick delirious after all those anaesthetics they had pumped into him?

"When he shot me with Night Howler he said "Wish you were muzzled now, eh Wilde?". Only he could know about this. I remembered his name, I remembered even the shape of his stripes. It was him. I'm sure of it." Said Nick. The conviction in the fox's eyes made the panther stop doubting the officer. Nick wasn't crazy, he knew that much, but… it was nearly impossible.

"Nick… that's a hell of a long shot. You were under the influence of Night Howler, he probably said something and your brain, while it was going… primal, registered it as something different." Theorized Clawhan.

Nick shot up angrily, but hissed in pain at his mending ribs and got back in bed.

"Don't you understand, Clawhan!? I heard him! If it really was my brain playing tricks on me, I'd have only heard gibberish!" shouted Nick.

"And the gun he shot me with… it looked just like the model used by Bellwether during the Nighthowler case. She's invlolved." Continued Nick. Clawhan wrote down information furiously. How the hell had he not seen this!? Of course that sheep was involved! Sure, it was possible that anyone with half a brain could have made the Nighthowler on his own, but who else would have motive of taking revenge on Nick and Judy in such a manner? But at least now he knew what to do: pay that sheep a visit in the Zootopia Correctional Facility, AKA, Black Oak Supermax Security Prison.

"Thanks, Nick. We'll get to the bottom of this. Know that I won't rest until that zebra bastard is right alongside Smellwether once I make sure they both get the chair." Growled the panther. Judy's eyes widened and the panther realized he had once again let the anger show through his being. The panther looked down at his paws and realized that his claws were unsheathed.

"Sorry." He said quietly. He couldn't lose control now. He'd save it for the zebra…

"As soon as I'm done following the rest of the leads, I'll go pay a visit to Bellwether." Said the panther. Both Nick and Judy gulped. They both knew perfectly well that the little fluffy lady was capable of far more than one could assume… She may be in prison, but to the vilest of animals, prison is nothing but a mere hoop to be jumped.

"Be careful." Said Judy simply, subconsciously holding Nick closer. That reminded Clawhan…

"Well, Judy, did you… tell him?" asked the panther. Judy had sworn to tell Nick about her feelings after she realized that they both loved each other. Love so strong it broke through the temptations of the primordial pleasures provided by the Night Howler. Judy and Nick both smirked. Nick put his paw around Judy's waist, brought her closer and they both kissed.

"Does that answer your question?" said Nick slyly. All three of them laughed.

* * *

"This way, please." Said the prison guard, a massive rhino as he was led through the narrow concrete corridors. The prison housed some of the worst criminals Zootopia had seen, including death row inmates.  
Unfortunately, Bellwether hadn't been given the chair, as her scumbag pig attorney sweet-talked the judge and jury into giving her life prison with the possibility of parole in thirty years. The massive concrete and steel structure dominated the skyline of the outskirts of Zootopia, its towers and searchlights visible even from some places within the city.  
The outside was just like any other supermax prison: several layers of towering electric fences and walls as thick as three feet. Several wolf guards with sniper rifles were visible in the towers.  
Despite the fact that the prisoners outnumbered the guards nearly a hundred to one, riots were rare and quickly supressed. All the guards were either ex-military or ex-ZPD. The high-tech security system was also capable of sealing off any trouble spot and knock-out gas could be leaked into cellblocks, should the inmates start a riot.

And of course, there were the riot dispersal crews, each guard a one-man army. When it was built, the prison was dubbed inescapable, and it had proven so for twenty years. This hellhole was a criminal's worst nightmare. Many of the inmates were put in here by Harry Clawhan, and the panther was grateful he didn't have to see any of them, as he was being led through special corridors, the only glimpse of the less than animalistic prisoners being through some small windows the guards would occasionally look through, the windows having a two-way mirror effect.

The dim lights combined with the musty smell of humidity gave the prison, even to a visitor through these special corridors a sense of oppression. And he would get to feel that while speaking to the sheep who tried to make Zootopia and the world see animals such as himself as nothing more than savage monsters, ready to give in to the lust of tasting flesh at any moment.

Oh, joy.

"This is it. You got thirty minutes, detective." Gruffed out the rhino guard (called Barney) as he slid his keycard within the electric lock and punched a few numbers. The door to the interrogation room opened after a brief buzz. The room was completely white, the buzzing neons from above doing nothing but amplify that.  
The only respite from the white was the grey-ish steel table and chairs, and the orange jumpsuit of a certain sheep inmate.

Ex-mayor Bellwether sat on the comically oversized chair, her scowl deepening as she saw who was her "visitor". She'd have folded her arms if they weren't cuffed to the table.

"It's incredible, don't you think?" she asked arrogantly before Harry could say a word. "You're the predator here, yet I'm the one chained. It's as if that goddamn tiger warden wants me to not have the possibility of escape should you choose to… submit to your gruesome desires." She spat with a smirk. Harry didn't let a single one of his features show that he was affected. Because he wasn't, this has-been extremist could do _nothing_ but preach her bigot beliefs to the walls. Instead, he gave a slight, obviously fake smile.

"Don't worry, _Smellwether_. I won't eat you. You make me sick enough as it is." He said simply. He struggled not to grin as he saw her twitch her jaw and bare her little sheep teeth. How adorable.

"You'll tell me about one of the members of your inner circle who is still at large. A zebra called Sebastian Stripes." He said, taking a seat. Bellwether scoffed.

"And why would I do that? First of all, I don't know anyone by that name." she said in her trademark peeved librarian voice, but still managing to sound serious. However, even within her mocking tone, Clawhan managed to pick up sincerity. Nothing about her showed that she was lying. Not a single twitch of the eyebrows or the waver of the tone. Of course, that zebra had changed his identity way before the incident!

"Then let me describe him: average to short height for his species, claw scar across his right eye, amazingly straight stripes, no curve to them whatsoever. Ring a bell?" he said. He noticed that the sheep shifted in her seat slightly, looking uncomfortable, her eyes darting to the floor as if thinking about that animal brought her chills.

Wasn't he her subordinate? Why would she be scared of him?

"And he sure as hell _is_ in your inner circle. He had access to the Night Howler gun and serum and tried to take revenge on Officers Judy Hopps and Nick Wilde. He had enough funds to pay off a wolf gang to walk out of their main hangout. So don't you dare try to bullshit me that he's just a random cog in your now crumbled machine." Said Harry, not leaning further, instead simply standing straight on the chair, eyes locked with Bellwether. Bellwether smiled a gruesome smirk and narrowed her eyes.

"Decided to take revenge on Officers Wilde and Hopps? Access to Night Howler? Oh… they paid for what they did to me at the museum… he made a re-enactment! Poetic justice! Oh, I did love his sense of humour! And his sense of justice!" Bellwether was now laughing openly, locking eyes with Harry.

Harry felt the back of his neck getting hot, his heart beating in his chest, his claws begging to be unsheated. She was _laughing_ at the mere thought of Judy being slaughtered by the mammal who was closest to her… The sheep, far more bloodthirsty, brutal and merciless than any predator ever could be… She was revelling in imagining how Nick killed his best friend, partner and lover…

"Oh, I do wonder if that fox killed himself… or maybe he enjoyed it? Maybe he is actually grateful that the Night Howler returned his primordial instinct to maim and feast on any bunny he sees!" she said morbidly, enjoying Harry's enraged gaze. Harry had to fight hard the instinct to grab the fluffy sheep and slam her head onto the steel desk… But, instead, he smiled.

"They're both alive." He said simply, causing the sheep's smile to falter.

"You know why? Because Nicholas Wilde is nothing like what you and other bigot bastards make him out to be. You, alongside with everyone who forced him to abandon whatever dreams he had as a kit, this is your greatest defeat. Your greatest slap in the face. You went with this plan to segregate Zootopia and to plant fear of predators.  
But, all you did was destroy prejudice. All you did was make life easier for mammals like me or Nick. I no longer have to walk down the street seeing fearful gazes from prey. Foxes like Nick no longer have to become what you think they are. Yes, even scum like you can make the world a better place." He said, looking satisfied.

"Now…" he said, ignoring Bellwether's scowl. "Tell me about that zebra." Said Harry. Bellwether smiled once again. She would enjoy toying with him…

"I have the right to remain silent, don't I? Don't even think about making an offer, I'm stuck here for life either way. I have nothing to gain. Better to know that there still is someone who cares about what a _true_ animal utopia is! Better to know that the seeds of my care, while some of them were pecked by crows such as yourself, that it survived, and it will come to fruit one day!" lectured Bellwether.

Harry studied her gaze. He knew that gaze of determination in criminals. No amount of promises, threats, coercion or insistence would convince her to give in, for she had nothing to lose. But that didn't mean that she was fearless… especially of the animals she hated…

"Very well, Bellwether. You don't need to say anything." Said Harry getting up, ruffling his coat. He ignored the malefic sheep's morbid smile of victory. It would fade soon enough…

"You'll be out within a few days." Said the panther, pretending to be going for the door.

"What!?" asked Bellwether. "I already told you, Detective, no promises can make me speak. Besides, I highly doubt you have enough contacts or resources to release me!" she said.

"Who said anything that you'd get out of here released? There is a way for a convict to be sent out without being officially released or escaping. It can happen legally, today or tomorrow. At any time." Said Clawhan. Bellwether's brow furrowed in confusion.

"What do you mean?" she asked. The panther smirked. She would break now…

"You are aware that you were transferred to a special prey-only cell block by the warden's order, right?" Harry asked. Bellwether smiled.

"Of course he did! Even he would never let those savages anywhere near me!" she said in a superior tone.

"Then how does a transfer to Cellblock E sound, mostly filled with predators who are now on death row?" asked Harry. Bellwether paled, her wool seeming ever whiter. She tried to narrow her eyes, but they were wide with shock. The panther went back to sit down, leaning forward, making the sheep cower in her oversized seat. His gaze had sent chills down the spines of the toughest gang enforcers, intimidating this little fluffy sheep lady was child's play.

"All of the prisoners here know what you did. And they know you're here. _Especially_ the ones who are predators. What do you think would have happened if the warden assigned you to a communal cellblock? What do you think a predator, who is also a hardened, professional killer, who killed before without remorse simply because his victim was a target would do to you? What do you think they'll do to _you?_ " asked Clawhan. Bellwether tried to stand tall in her seat, but she was about to faint and fall off, it was dead obvious.

"It won't be a quick death, sheep. Trust me." Said the panther.

"The warden owes me a few favours. Many of the inmates are here because of me. All I need is to take a slight detour from the exit to his office and ask for your transfer. A few extra steps and a couple of words is all it takes for you to experience what you made so many innocent prey experience because of you infecting innocent predators. You will experience what the victims of your victims experienced." Harry let silence fill a pause as his small blue-green eyes pierced the scared sheep in front of him.

"Being eaten alive." He finished snarling.

Bellwether let go of a gasp, trying to take her hooves to her mouth, but they were cuffed in place. Bellwether looked left and right, breathing heavily as if looking for an escape. Harry could almost see the gears turning inside her head. She was thinking of what to say that could satisfy him, but he knew that the battle was won.

"Something will go wrong with the cameras after you're transferred. Just for five minutes, but think of what can happen in five minutes. It's a _really_ long time. And with the right kind of… unplesantries, five minutes can seem like five hours." Harry stood back in his seat, allowing the backrest of the seat to accentuate his formidable height rather than leaning forward or baring his teeth. Staying calm intimidated criminals more than losing your temper, spending half his life in the ZPD had taught him that. Bellwether was now simply looking at the ground in defeat.  
She knew there was nothing she could bring to the table that could satisfy the panther detective unless it was what he asked for. She only hoped that the little she knew would be enough to please him… She sighed and began to tell what little there was to say about her mysterious partner…

* * *

"And you never wondered why he was offering as little information as possible about himself or where all that money came from?" asked the panther after a few minutes of her relaying her story. Bellwether shook her head.

"I needed his money. I was just a glorified secretary, after all, and with a salary to match. One of my ram henchmen told me about him when we started planning. All he had was a phone number. All he knew was that he hated predators and that he had resources and contacts that could help us obtain the fruition of our plans. I tried finding out what he was shortly after he joined us. I sent one of my best mammals, a ram, ex-ZPD, to tail him, spy on him, find out who he was…" Bellwether swallowed hard and exhaled, as if reliving the most terrifying moment of her life.

Clawhan frowned. What was it that managed to make the merciless Bellwether this terrified? The one who had no qualms about turning random predators into savages and letting them slaughter innocent prey just to spread blind hate? There was someone even worse than her?

"My spy was found next morning… in a ditch with a bowie knife in his throat." Said Bellwether, swallowing once again.

"After that, Martin, or whatever his name is, kept coming back to our secret meetings as if nothing had happened. And me and the rest were too afraid to… confront him. He stuck to my plan, did what I asked, mostly, and without his resources, we couldn't have pulled off all we did. Another thing about him was that he never showed up unless it was necessary, which is why he's the only one of my closest associates who weren't arrested. That's all I know." She finished, glaring dangerously at Harry. Harry got up.

"I'd say 'thank you dearly', but I'd be lying." He said dryly. The sheep grit her teeth.

"You won't get away with this, panther. You wanted to turn me into food for your repulsive kind?" she asked disgusted. For a moment, Harry could see murder in the small ewe's eyes. Not just any threatening glare, but the glare of someone with the intent to kill the person they were glaring at in the most painful and sadistic of fashions.

"All you threatened me with, Detective… You'll get to experience it, first paw." She snarled. Clawhan felt something resembling a small shiver at the back of his neck. He wasn't sure why. There was no way Bellwether could have… fulfilled her threat. She was in here for life in Zootopia's finest prison. He felt embarrassed for letting the simple stare of such a pathetic adversary intimidate him.

 _"Only the glares of those that are pure evil are capable of actually transmitting their desire to kill…"_ thought Harry. He settled for just giving the sheep an icy-eyed glare of his own.

"I'm looking forward to it." He said simply, signaling to Barney that he was ready to leave...

* * *

Three more days.

Just three more days and Nick was out. He was still wobbling a bit and the doctor had specified to not do anything strenuous for a while, but at least he didn't have to walk in crutches.

To say that Judy was overjoyed was an understatement. She had been released way before Nick as her injuries were superficial and she couldn't stand leaving Nick's side. The only thing she had to look out for was Nick's PTSD.  
She had talked to Nick's therapist, a female cheetah (his doctor thought it would be best if his therapist was another predator) and she learned that Nick had been having nightmares about going savage, only that in those dreams… he actually killed her. Not only that, but he had started having panic attacks. He was under medication.  
This was a tough time, but they would pull through. She knew that Nick would most likely try to hide his anxiety from her, but she'd get him to confide even if it was the last thing he wanted to do. Those were her thoughts as she was cuddled up against her fox as Clawhan drove them home.

 _Home…_ Their shared apartment seemed so empty without Nick. Too big for just one small bunny. She avoided going into Nick's room as the one time she had done that, she jumped into the bed and cried herself to sleep wishing beyond anything that Nick was there…

The long hours in the empty apartment seemed never ending and she almost wished that there really was something seriously wrong with her so that she could have stayed by Nick's side in the hospital. The times she went to visit Nick felt more at home than anywhere else. She felt more at home in that white-tiled, ammonia-smelling prison than she did in their modern apartment.

She even brought in a laptop to him so they could binge-watch Netfurix while she visited. She just sat there with him, cuddled up against his chest in his hospital bed watching Haredevil. It was a TV show about a blind jack rabbit with super-hearing who was a lawyer by day and a vigilante by night. It had been her favourite comic-book as a kit, as the crime fighting bunny boosted her morale that there was a chance she could become a cop one day.

"I heard that Electra appears in this episode." She said excitedly as the episode in which the Pumanisher, a killer vigilante, is arrested, drew to a close.

"-She'll appear any second now, you see she was Matt's love interest in the comics, well, unless you count the alternate timeline that was between-

-Wow, I can't believe what a comic book geek you are, Carrots." Interrupted Nick slyly. Judy slapped his chest at which Nick cried out in mock pain.

"Your ribs aren't in your chest. I took care what I hit." She said dryly.

"Yeah… I really hope Warthog Fisk shows up again soon! Really, they made him too good of a villain, I mean I was almost rooting for him to beat the crap out of Haredevil at the finale of- OW!" cried out Nick again as Judy elbowed him.

"You _really_ did hit me this time!" he accused.

"I know. _No one_ talks like that about my hero…" She said smiling devilishly. No one wished that on her favourite character and got away unscathed... Nick grumbled under his breath. He would get back at her…  
All of the sudden, she saw Judy's eyes widen and her jaw dropped. Nick looked at the screen. Across from blind bunny-lawyer\vigilante, Matt Haredock sat a crimisson-furred vixen in a black dress.

"Hello, Matt… Long time no see…" she said seductively on the screen to the blind hare.

"No… no they didn't…" said Judy with gritted teeth. Nick was just smiling slyly beside her, grateful for this development.

"THEY MADE ELECTRA A VIXEN!?" she shouted. Nick was genuinely shocked. Why was she so outraged that a rabbit was having a romantic relationship with a fox? Was she still…

"SHE WAS A BUNNY IN THE COMICS! HOW DARE THEY CHANGE THAT!?" she shouted. Oh… Nick sighed and facepawed.

"Comic book geek…" he whispered to himself. Judy elbowed him once again.

"I _can_ hear you, you know. I may not be Haredevil, but I'm still a bunny." She said smiling, running a paw over her ears. He'd really have to watch his muzzle around her…

"But now that I think about it… I'm actually kinda glad they made Electra a vixen…" said Judy, putting one paw around her lover's neck, cuddling against him more.

"I don't see you complaining about your ribs now…" she murmured into his fur. He chuckled and hugged her closer so she was sitting on his chest.

"No reason to." He said simply, drawing her closer for a kiss that completely dwarfed the one that Electra was sharing with Haredevil on the long-forgotten laptop…

Judy smiled as she thought of all of that, even though it had happened just the other day.

"I'm glad to see you two together. Even though it's going to be tough and there's still a crook to catch, this is a time for joy and peace. Chief Bogo extended your sick leave." Said Clawhan as he took a left turn. He smiled as he glanced at the two of them in the rear-view mirror, cuddled up against each other, nuzzling each other constantly, Nick never missing the chance to steal a kiss inbetween Judy's ears. The fox had sneakily managed to wrap his tail around the bunny without her noticing, but when she did notice she didn't seem to mind.

"But be careful. That zebra worked with Bellwether." Said Clawhan.

"Really? Can't say we're surprised." Said Judy.

"Yeah, well… 'worked' is a bit of an understatement. Bellwether was afraid of him. Still is." Clawhan saw Judy and Nick's expression turning to frightened confusion. He couldn't blame them. He couldn't imagine how cold blooded someone had to be in order to shock and frighten someone like the sheep that almost segregated Zootopia.

"Even though your… misadventure wasn't covered by the media thanks to Chief Bogo pulling some strings, the zebra may find out his plan failed. From what the sheep told me, he has money and influence, even though his identity is a secret to everyone. I don't think he'd waste any resources on trying to kill you two again as he failed the first time and he most likely has other plans, but be careful. Keep a gun handy." He said, looking reassuringly in the mirror at the two of them as they subconsciously held each other closer and tighter as they were afraid that one of them would suddenly get snatched by the malefic zebra.

"Here we are." He said, pulling up in front of Nick and Judy's apartment block. They had moved in together as roommates about a month before the incident, both eager to get out of their crammed, dirty apartments. With the money they had pooled together, they were able to get a rather nice, modern apartment in the better part of town, very close to the precinct. It wasn't exactly a high-rise, but the building was fairly imposing to look at. A (relatively) short tower of steel, concrete and glass with a burger place residing at the bottom floor next to the entrance.

"Take care, cubs!" said Harry as they exited.

"Oh, and Nick…" he said, making the fox and the rabbit turn around.

"The doctor said " _nothing too strenuous"_ , so… be careful." He said with a knowing smile, driving off as they both blushed deeply and looked at each other. They said nothing as they entered the complex and got into the elevator. The short trip gave the both of them a warm and fuzzy sensation neither could explain. They walked this route dozens of times, but this was the first time they were genuinely _happy_ to be back. All the times they were back from the precinct, all they couldn't wait for was for each of them to be back in their own bed and sleep the day off.

Now, they couldn't wait to be _there._

They walked paw-in-paw out of the elevator as it reached the fourth floor, finding their apartment quickly. Nick sighed in relief thinking that he would finally get to sleep in his own bed, without some annoying nurse asking him every five seconds if he needed something.

 _"And I'll have Carrots by my side."_ He added smiling, looking down at her. Judy's smile grew as they came face to face with their apartment door, her carrot welcome mat greeting them. She remembered all the complaints and faces Nick made when they moved in and she placed the mat, but he still didn't oppose it. The apartment seemed so much more _welcoming._

The hardwood floor was as shiny as ever, a plain, yet modern and fitting black carpet was stretched out a few yards away in the living area. Like in most modern apartments, the main room was a living\kitchen\dining room combo, with only a bar-like counter to separate the kitchen from the main room. Aside from the large combo room, there were only three others: two bedrooms and one bathroom. This type of apartment was usually out of most ZPD's officers financial reach, but by splitting the rent (and because the lion landlord was incredibly grateful to the two of them for what they did for predators and Zootopia that they had to practically beg him to pay anything) they were able to afford it fairly easily.

To Judy, when she came back without Nick here, it felt monotone, a cage, a void of loneliness, now she felt _home._

She felt even more at home than before. She looked up at Nick and saw him smile. The smile, different than the smirk. The smirk was just something to show people (mostly strangers) that he was alright, and that he didn't care. The _smile,_ however was something saved for Judy. Something that showed that for the first time in his life, he was happy with himself and his lifestyle, and he was grateful to the bunny who had made it all possible. Something that she saw a lot more now that they had confessed their love…

Nick bent down on her level and they embraced each other tightly like a pair of newlyweds inside their new house. Even though said house remained unchanged since their temporary departure everything seemed _new_.  
The black and red plush sofa that Nick never stopped littering with cricket chips crumbs, bug-burger wrappings and soda cans, never stopping despite Judy stomping his tail and giving him a lecture about hygene every time he did so now seemed so inviting for the both of them to sit on, cuddle into each other with a shared blanket and binge-watch Netfurix after a hard day, Nick to always mock Judy about bunnies being emotional every time she cried at an emotional scene.

The small table was now an opportunity to watch each other as they ate, the other chairs to be removed, leaving only two for the lovers. The view of the Zootopia night lights from the balcony window, something they had always taken for granted, were now adding to their idyllic place to live together.

"Welcome home." She whispered to him, kissing him behind the ear.

"I'll go unpack, Fluff. Try not to eat all the carrot bagels Clawhauser sent me. You don't want to end up looking more like an apple than a carrot." He said laughing, even as Judy lightly punched him in anger. She never could bring herself to be mad at his teases and mocking jokes, even before. She had _always_ loved him, just never had the guts to admit it.

But now she had, and it was _heaven…_

She went over to her room as Nick went to his own. She could now finally call her parents on MuzzleTime. She just called them every day with sound-only, lying that her camera was broken, as she didn't want them to see that she was in the hospital. They were already over-the-wall worried with her working on the force. Them finding out that she was nearly killed by her partner (her fox partner, no less) was something she cringed at by just thinking about the scenario. One, that they'd do everything they could to make her quit, two that all their changed beliefs about foxes and preds in general, and their (relative) friendship with Nick would have been completely ruined, Night Howler influence or not.

Her room was plastered with ZPD posters, as well a couple of the Bunnyburrow Carrot Days festival. A few family pictures sat on the wall and on the desk as well. ("a few" because if she had taken all of them, it would have taken all of the apartment as well the entire floor to stick them all). A few medals given by the new mayor were hung and framed proudly, taking one's attention as soon as they entered.

A small double bed was covered with a carrot-patterned blanket, a pillow with a police badge and about a dozen plushie bunnies sprawled all over the mattress. She groaned and chuckled at the same time as she thought how Nick mocked her every he saw her plushies and carrot blanket.

"What's with you rabbits and carrots? That's like seeing a horse with grass drawings on everything he owns. Or me with little dumb bunnies on my PJs." She remembered his sly quote like it was yesterday. She sat down at the desk and opened her MuzzleTime app. She took in a deep breath as she flicked her parents' number.

The phone barely got to beep twice before her father answered, looking overjoyed that his girl finally got her camera "fixed".

"Jude the Dude! So good to finally see your face again!" beamed her father. She cringed internally at her father's nickname. When Nick had heard it, it was all he teased her about a whole week.

 _"Is that Judy?"_ her mother could be heard from another room. "Hey, Dad! Yeah, finally got it replaced. Now you can see how beaten up I look after a hard day!" she said with forced sarcasm and enthusiasm.

"Those gangs at it again? No rest for the wicked, eh?" said her father as her mother entered the room, looking overjoyed to see her daughter.

"Nope. Much worse. Any cop's worst nightmare" She said, putting on the most dramatic face she could muster.

"What?" asked her mother concerned while Stu looked downright terrified. Judy let go of a fake shudder.

"Paperwork." She lied chuckling. Stu and Bonnie looked absolutely relieved and they both let out hearty laughs after finally getting their daughter's joke.

"It's actually been kinda slow. Most interesting thing to happen today was a stopping an illegal drag race. In golf carts." Judy lied again, rolling her eyes in mock-exasperation. She felt terrible, lying to her parents about being active and happy in the ZPD the same way she had all that time ago…

"Good to hear, bun-bun. You do need a break every now and then after all." Said her mother. While "bun-bun" wasn't exactly the best nickname, it sure as hell beat "Jude the Dude".

"How's the fox?" asked Stu. Judy genuinely felt angry at this question. She clenched her jaw.

"For the millionth time, dad. He's not _'the fox'_. His name is Nick, he's my partner and he saved my life more than a couple of times." She said angrier than usual at her father's internal spiecesism.

 _Saved my life…_ Last time it had happened, he had nearly killed himself… She distantly looked at her paws, struggling to erase the memory of Nick trying to kill her in the basement…

"Bun-bun? Are you okay? Please excuse your father, he's… had a hard day…" said Bonnie, looking scoldingly at her husband. Judy swore she heard Bonnie's foot thumping in impatience and annoyance. Judy was grateful that her mother's words pulled her from her trance.

"How's Nick? Hard day for him too, huh?" said her mother.

"Yeah, but you know him, turns everything on its side with a snarky comment. Whole precinct was grateful he was there." Said Judy, earning a chuckle out of her parents.

"But we're home now, he's in his room." She said. She didn't know why, but Stu looked… hurt and saddened after those words.

"So… you're back home?" he asked in barely a whisper.

"Yeah, dad, I'm home, what's going-" Judy couldn't say another syllable before her father, the more emotional member of the family, began sobbing openly, hugging his wife.

"Oh, Stu, quiet now…" soothed Bonnie, but she too had unshed tears at the corners of her eyes.

"-Dad what is-

-Sorry, sorry, Jude… You said _home_ … you said _home_ …" repeated Stu. Realization dawned over Judy. This was the first time she had referred to her apartment as "home".

She had always said "I'm at the apartment" or something along those lines. She remembered her mother saying that her father had started crying damn near uncontrollably after she was off in the train leaving for Zootopia.

"Carrots? What's going on?" asked Nick as he came in, who was, finally, not in a green Hawaiian and horribly mismatching tie, but rather a dark green v-neck t-shirt and black jeans, thanks to Judy's fashion sense finally rubbing off on him. Nick's eyes fell on the screen on Judy's Carrotphone.

"It's alright… it's alright… sorry Jude… I'm glad you're happy…" said Stu, cracking a teary little smile.

Being a father of nearly 300 kits, a child leaving home was something he was used to, but it never got any easier to hear that they no longer considered home the large burrow they grew up in, where they spent their life up until that point, where there parents and siblings resided at even at that point, but rather a foreign little place which they chose…

"Hiya, Mr. and Mrs. Hopps". Said Nick nervously to the two bunnies on Judy's screen. He suddenly felt nervous about him being Judy's boyfriend and them not knowing. He swallowed hard at the thought of Judy suddenly breaking the news to them, even though the mere thought was ridiculous.

"Hey, hey, dad… it's okay. Maybe I'll be able to get some time off and I'll visit… _home_. The real one. The one that will always be… home." She said, smiling at the screen, her ears going up as her mood suddenly improved. Stu sniffled and wiped his eyes as his own smile widened.

"Okay… sorry, honey carrot, your dad is being overly dramatic. You may have moved out, but you'll always be our little bun-bun. It's nice to see you again! Glad you got your camera fixed!" said Bonnie. Nick scoffed.

"Heh. Bun-bun…" he whispered, trying his best not to burst out laughing.

"Don't even get me go there… Piberius…" she said slyly, sticking out her tongue at him.

"Piberius?" asked Stu and Bonnie in unison on the screen. Nick swallowed hard. "Uh-oh" he thought.

"Yeah, yeah, it's been nice to see you too, Mister and Missus Hopps, but me and Judy have to got to uh… do things…" Judy and her parents looked over at Nick with an amused expression. "For the job, I mean. Bye, bye!" he said, desperately gesturing to Judy to flick the conversation over, which she thankfully did after a quick goodbye. He sighed and bent his head backwards.

"You did not just tell them my middle name…" he said grumpily.

"Finally you'll stop calling me Jude the Dude." She said, remembering the week in which Nick only called her by that when she had answered her parents' MuzzleTime in his presence a month ago. When he resumed his usual "Carrots" and "Fluff" routine, she was genuinely relieved.

"Your old man seemed pretty torn up. What happened?" he asked. Judy's ears drooped.

"I… I said that I was… _home_. I never talked like that about the apartment…" her ears suddenly shot up and her violet eyes shone, even in the dim light, as she had only turned on her desk lamp.

"I said that… because of you. With you here and not in the hospital… this is home." She said getting off the chair and walking over to him, cupping his paws in her own. He smiled and lowered his muzzle to her level, nearly pressing his nose to hers.

"So… aside from breaking your folks' hearts, what else can I do for you tonight, Miss Hopps?" he asked huskily. She chuckled and closed the gap, kissing him softly. The kiss wasn't short and hard, rather it was long and passionate. Nick was shocked by her sudden move. Up until that point, he had always been the one to get things going in their kisses and was thoroughly in charge over the inexperienced Judy.

But now… _"I've been a good teacher."_ He thought, smiling inside her small muzzle.

He then suddenly understood. The way she made sure they were close as possible, the way her small mouth was somehow dominating his own, the way she was _pulling him toward her bed…_ she wanted him. Now.

It was their first night as a couple after all…

"Judy… are you… sure…?" he asked inbetween kisses. She pulled away momentarily and looked seductively into his eyes. Once those two amethyst orbs were working their magic, there was no looking away. He could have stared into them all day.

"Never been so sure… Piberius…" she said slyly, smirking, looking more like Nick. That was all it took. He scooped her up and slowly walked toward her bed. Her eager, yet inexperienced and clumsy fingers moved to remove Nick's T-shirt. They could hear each other's heartbeats like crazy, two bonded hearts beating in the exact same rhythm. He responded by reaching for her blue blouse.

It was then that she realized…

"No!" she almost yelled, stopping his paw just as he had pulled her blouse only an inch.

"-What? I told you, Carrots, if you're not sure, then we can-

-No, Nick, it's not that! I want it! More than anything!" she said, stroking his muzzle. She swallowed hard.

"But… are you ready to see… the scars?" she said, looking away from him. Nick's world froze. The scars… the ones he himself had caused…

 _"No, no… it wasn't you, it was that monster who infected you…"_ he tried repeating his therapists' words. He imagined the way her fluffy, perfect light grey fur looked now, horrible, red lines with stitches scarring her perfect looks, and her bitten shoulder…

His chest suddenly felt tight. He couldn't stop his heaving gasps as he desperately tried to get oxygen in his lungs.

He was in the basement once again, Judy was bloody and battered, cowering in a corner, sobbing and begging for her life, her beautiful amethyst eyes shining with tears as she held a bloody paw to him, begging not to be eaten alive…

"Nick! Nick!" she brought him out of his panic attack, hugging him tightly, stroking his head up and down as she lowered the both of them to the ground. He couldn't stop him sobbing on the top of her head as he held her closer. He didn't deserve her, he had almost killed her…

"I'm so sorry, Judy…" he sobbed. She could do nothing but hold him tightly while also slightly rocking his body as her fur was beginning to be stained with tears.

"Pills…" he whispered after he had slightly calmed.

"Hm?" she asked confused, looking down at him.

"In… in my back pocket. I have them in case… of a panic attack." He said, pulling out a small bottle, retrieving a white pill, which he dry swallowed. He shuddered and breathed heavily as he waited for the medicine to work its magic.

Judy was standing beside him, rubbing the back of his neck while embracing him from behind. She hated that Nick needed those pills simply to lead a normal life.

She hated that he blamed himself for her injuries.

She hated that he would never _truly_ forget how he almost killed her.

But most of all, she hated that fucking zebra… and she hated Bellwether…

"I'm ready." He said eventually. "Show them." Judy took in a deep breath and slowly lifted her blouse.  
Just above her waistline were three long, narrow, red lines with stitchmarks.

 _His claws dug into her Kevlar, continuing downwards, slashing her chest…_

Nick inhaled sharply, staying calm with the breathing techniques the therapist had taught him.

That was it. It was working. Time to man up.

He took off Judy's garment completely, revealing a much worse shoulder scar. This scar was massive, long, circular, thick tooth marks, _his tooth marks_ , across her shoulder, the fur above them uneven, even missing in some places. His hyperventilating was ceased by Judy's comforting touch. He had now seen her scars.  
He was one step closer to stop blaming himself. He placed her back on the bed and kissed her scarred shoulder. "I will never let anyone ever hurt you again…" he vowed. "Do you understand? Never." He said again, kissing her on the neck. She smiled in relief and pure joy.

Her fox was back… She pulled him into her bed suddenly, surprising him with her strength. He had a surprise of his own, angling his body so that he fell on top of her and his muzzle straight on hers.

They both enjoyed being the loud neighbours, for a change…

* * *

 _ **Again, guys, hope this wasn't too rushed, this is the last update for... about another month.**_

 _ **Also, see if you can get the references... (see the title. Wink. Wink)  
Also... some references to a certain Marvel show (which has become my favourite show next to Breaking Bad)  
**_


	7. Chapter 6- Richard and Amanda

_**IMPORTANT A/N PLEASE READ!:**_

 ** _First of all, yes, I am alive. Despite the fact I knew I was going to be busy, nothing could have prepared me for what was to come: passing my GCSE and then the entire charade of applying at a College. I was up to my neck in studying, but now I'm finally free until mid-October!  
And then my piece of crap laptop broke down, taking the 3k something words I had written on this chapter down with it. From now on, I'll always have a backup, I learned my lesson._**

 ** _After I post this chapter and then the next, I will write some more Zootopia oneshots (see my other Zootopia story, "Fox and Bunny Stew"). I will post a poll on which one you wish to see next._**

 ** _And now my new laptop is a friggin ASUS ROG i7, so there's no way it'll break down again, have no fear, dear readers! ;)_**

 ** _Also, this chapter is well over 14k, so sit comfortably and get a beverage._**

 ** _While I do have some MAJOR doubts about this chapter, I didn't want to hold my readers waiting any longer._**

* * *

Nick drifted between sleep and wakefulness as a sudden lack of oxygen suddenly made him drift away slightly. He grumbled a little, but he focused on getting back to sleep, he sure needed the rest after last night…

He grunted as he once again felt all the air get squeezed out of him. Now his eyes snapped open, searching for the source of his sudden lack of breath.  
It was Judy, cuddled up completely against his slender frame, her face buried into the soft fuzz on his chest. She fit so perfectly in there with her ears tucked underneath his chin as if she had always belonged there.  
Her mouth was partly open and formed into a slight, yet incredibly meaningful smile, emitting the most adorable little coo-snores he had ever heard. He smiled as he remembered last night.  
It wasn't just expressing love to Judy in the most intimate way possible that made him feel this way, it was _Judy herself_ that fixed him. Her mere presence made him feel like a different animal. Quite fitting, as it was her that turned his life around and stopped him from living the rest of his life as exactly what society wanted him to be.

It was she that made him be a part of solving the case which nearly divided Zootopia and the world in two, she turned him into a cop, she made him feel like more than just a filthy scavenger, cursed by nature to be unable to survive except by trickery and unscrupulous behaviour. His life had no meaning without her. It wasn't just the physical pleasure of it all that made Nick feel like he had lived the most fulfilling life of his life, but he felt as if they had indeed bonded through making love, not just involved themselves in this for the sheer pleasure of it all.  
Whenever he got intimate with his long-gone vixen girlfriends, it was all mechanical, the sheer primal pleasure of sex being the only thing that fuelled it. Nick had had many girlfriends in his time, being a hustler tended to attract a lot of foolish young vixens. However, even then he knew, deep down, that he didn't truly love them and that they didn't truly love him.  
Having such a long string of girlfriends and sleeping with them was just his own way of lying to himself that there was someone who actually cared about him and looked at him as more than just a hustler and petty thief (although that is literally the only way that attracted them to him) and that there was someone who would mourn his loss.

Yeah, right…

The feeling of making love with someone he cared about was something new to him, something which made him feel like a virgin again. Nick realized that this was the first night since he had woken up from the coma in which he didn't have any nightmares.  
He was plagued day and night by visions of him tearing the flesh of the mammal he loved the most haunted him like a hungry ghoul, not to mention that more often than not in those nightmares, Judy died and he continued feasting on her corpse until he woke up.  
He had to spend every morning trying his best to get the taste of her blood out of his mouth, the hallucination created by the monstrous nightmare was this powerful.  
No more, with her by his side. However, as he reflected on how much Judy had changed his life for the better and how she would continue doing so, Nick realized that he was slowly suffocating thanks to Judy's powerful snuggle.

Not that he minded that his bunny lover was the more cuddly one in bed, but her hugs were more like desperate death-grips. Ever so carefully, he pried her fingers off of him and scooted away from her. She moaned in her sleep and stretched a paw after Nick, but he was able to get away from her vice-like grip, fighting the urge to gasp for air as he did so. He knocked a few of Judy's bunny plushies off the bed while doing so.  
Not that it mattered, most of the stuffed rabbits having ended up on the ground following their very active night. The once immaculately tidy floor was now littered with stuffed bunnies and the rays of the earliest hours of the morning peeked through the curtains, falling on Judy's sleeping form like jewels on a goddess. It illuminated her grey fur perfectly, her half-parted lips and her eyes, somehow looking almost as pretty as when they were open, revealing those two amethyst orbs.

She was just so… so… "Cute." Nick half-whispered those words as a smile found itself on his muzzle.  
He still wouldn't dare say the "C" word in front of her, he still very much enjoyed being alive and not being the collateral victim of bunny-rage, especially now, when he had finally found true happiness by Judy's side.  
However, the rays also illuminated Judy's shoulders and torso, exactly where her scars were. Where he had bitten and clawed her in a savage effort to rip her apart to feast…

Nick tried not to look. He really did.

But it was almost as if his own guilty mind forced him to do so as a sort of morbid punishment.

His chest felt tight once again, Judy's pristine room faded away, replaced by the dark, damp basement of the warehouse…

NO! Nick's paw rushed for the pills on the bedside table as the panic attack began to seize him. He popped open the lid with his claw, sending a few of the precious pills on the floor, but he didn't care, he picked one up and dry swallowed it. He heard Judy moan in her sleep and turn around.  
He held his breath in order not to wake her. Nick focused on an exercise his cheetah therapist had taught him that would calm him: visualising his childhood street as well as the next block over.

"Burch Street… Higgins Drive…" he whispered, imagining the trashy, run-down, yet peaceful streets of his childhood. He never thought about those streets as something that would help him in his life later. As a kit, he had always just taken them for granted, in fact, he spent most of his childhood hating them, wishing beyond anything that he could live in a better part of Zootopia.  
Now, thinking about them had the power to make him momentarily forget about that dreadful day in which he was forced to maim the mammal he loved the most. He looked back at her again, her peaceful, sleeping shadow covered in a white sheet, snoring without a care in the world.

He reflected on how at first he was reluctant to do it with her, as he was afraid he might hurt her due to their size difference, but he had been afraid for nothing, as one heavenly hour later, she had left him a panting mess and she didn't even seem winded.

A bunny girl this good at her first time… Nick supposed that some stereotypes really were justified. Not that he minded that this particular rabbit stereotype was true…

He realized that waking up before her was not something that would happen very often, due to him being nocturnal and what not, so he decided to take advantage of this situation somehow.  
He could have woken her up by tickling her bare little bunny toes with a feather from a pillow.  
He could have nuzzled her stomach and made her wake up laughing hysterically.  
He could have kissed her, the best wake-up call of all.

Or he could have… no, he wasn't that much of a bastard. Or was he? A devilish smirk found itself on Nick's muzzle.

Yes, yes he would do it… Time for her to find out just how "exciting" it was to have a canine partner… Ever so carefully and subtly, he got back into bed and went over her.

"Wakey, wakey, Carrot-Juice…" he sang in a whisper. Judy turned around in her sleep and mumbled something that could have been translated into "just five more minutes…" Nick smiled as he felt Judy's warm breath tickle the fur on his paw. He realized that this is how he wanted to wake up every day for the rest of his life, with his bunny life-mate by his side, even if it did mean suffering her rib-crushing sleep cuddle.

But it was time she saw how foxes showed affection… Nick quickly gave her a light lick over her nose. Judy mumbled in her sleep and took her paw to her face.

"What the…" she said, cracking open her eyes slightly. It took all of Nick's willpower not to burst out laughing. Oh, this would be the best wake-up call ever…

Without wasting another moment, Nick began licking her fully and energetically from head to toe, making sure to emit a slurping sound everytime he did so. Judy yelped in surprise.

"What the!? Hey! Ew! Eww! Nick! STOP! BAD FOX! STOP! THAT'S GROSS!" she yelled, futilely trying to keep the large fox tongue from drenching her further. Finding a window of opportunity, Judy kicked him off the bed.  
Despite grunting in pain and falling off, Nick continued to laugh hysterically as Judy jumped off the bed, creating a large puddle at her feet. She lurched in disgust as she shook the drool off of her. She glared at the laughing, soon to be comatose Nick.

"I'M COVERED IN FOX SLOBBER!" she yelled.

"Really, now? Wonder how that happened!" asked Nick sarcastically, throwing his arms up in a "I have no idea!" gesture. She angrily flicked some of the drool on his face, which didn't faze him in the slightest.

"Sorry, Carrots, this is how foxes show how much they love each other. Really, you knew what you were getting into when you said you loved me. Canines are… messy when it comes to expressing feelings." He said, earning a punch into his arm, which while it would undoubtedly bruise, he didn't want it to show.

"Be thankful you weren't wearing anything, bun-bun. Foxy drooly doesn't wash out." He said, this time getting on the bed to avoid the wrath of his bunny-lover. Judy sighed and facepawed.

"Way to ruin a blissful night…" she whispered. After saying that, her gaze softened.

"Last night was _amazing_." She cooed.

"Tell me about it, Fluff. _You_ were amazing last night." Responded Nick, dipping his head down so he could touch his nose to hers.

"It was so amazing that the only thing that woke me up now wasn't a nightmare… but you." He said, stroking her ears. Her smile was what made him drop the bomb… Time to continue the hustle…

"Yes, you woke me up… hugging my tail like crazy." He said. Judy's jaw dropped.

"I did not!" she yelled indignantly. Nick chuckled while once again dipping his head down to her level, keeping only a few inches between them.

"You wanna bet?" he asked, grinning so much that it showed all his predatory teeth. Nick took his phone from the bedside table and browsed through a few apps before landing on the desired one: the video gallery.

Judy noticed that the latest video had the thumbnail of Nick shirtless and grinning in a dimly lit room. _Her_ dimly lit room. It was then that she realized that he had filmed this last night.

"Sweet cheese and crackers…" she whispered as she cringed internally at what was about to follow. Nick pressed the thumbnail, causing the video to roll. Now that the video was on, Judy came to the conclusion that it had been, indeed, filmed last night. Most of the bunny plushies were on the ground. She never left her room this untidy, last night had been the first, mostly because she was too drunken on the ecstasy of expressing love to Nick in the most intimate way to notice, and then too tired to care. Nick seemed to be struggling not to burst out in laughter, both the real Nick and the one on the video.

 _"Alright, this is how cuteness incarnate looks like…_ " said the onscreen Nick. Judy stomped her foot and grunted in anger at Nick's use of the "C" word, which made her all the cuter to Nick. Then, the onscreen Nick turned the camera to something else.  
Judy was in the bed, snoring lightly, the blanket covering her from the waist down. And she was hugging Nick's tail tightly.

Judy gasped and covered her mouth as she saw this. "Oh. My. Carrots!" she exclaimed in a shocked voice as she saw herself cuddling Nick's tail in her sleep. The onscreen Nick chuckled and angled his tail so that he tickled her nose slightly. She chuckled slightly, somehow without waking up, and pressed her face in the fuzz even further.

The onscreen Nick reached out to stroke her ears up and down and plant a kiss inbetween them. This caused Judy to moan in her sleep and grab more of Nick's tail, wrapping it all around her neck like a scarf.  
How did she do that without waking up? Judy continued staring at the screen, eyes wide, slack-jawed. How had she allowed herself to melt like that? She looked ridiculous, childish, in over her heels in love, immature, and worst of all… she looked _cute_... Nick then turned the camera back to him.

 _"I'm starting to wonder if she took me just for my tail…"_ he said, propping his muzzle on his free hand, pretending to be pondering.

 _"Am I jealous of my own tail?_ " he asked in mock shock just before the video cut.

Nick continued staring at her shocked expression, giving his best con-artist victory smirk he could muster.

"I am _so_ sending this to the entire precinct…" he said, punching a few apps. It took Judy a good three seconds to process that. She gasped and rushed for Nick's phone.

"NOOOOO!" she yelled, trying in vain to grab the smartphone from the taller fox.

"Sent it." Said Nick calmly. Judy jaw went slack and looked at Nick with a glare that was… mostly unreadable except for the extraordinarily obvious "I am going to kill you…" At this, Nick laughed and showed her the video gallery, which was now one video shorter: Nick had deleted the video.

"Just wanted to see your reaction. You kept loving my tail since day one, I just HAD to catch it on camera!" he said, shrugging. Judy let go of a sigh of relief.

"Why the heck did I get hitched with you? First you drench me in your own slobber and then you scare me half to death with the prospect of humiliation!" she half-yelled.

"Hey, those are some of the best things I've done in a while! Like I said, licking your partner is telling them that you really like them! Come on, you know you love me and every single one of my foxy weirdness shenanigans!" he said in an overly dramatic flail of his arms. Nick stood in suspense for a minute as Judy kept glaring at him, foot thumping.  
Nick's ears flattened. Had he maybe gone too far?

 _"Yeah, way to screw up your first night of making love to her."_ He thought bitterly against himself. That is, until Judy's expression softened and smiled slyly, the smirk putting all his con-artist devilish smiles to shame.

"Do I know that?" she said in an all too familiar tone. Nick immediately brightened in joy.

"Yes, yes I- mmph!" she couldn't finish the sentence before Nick's muzzle was on hers. She instantly melted into the kiss, making sure that she was as close as possible to him. Not just because she wanted to feel his fur against hers as much as possible, but also for another reason…  
Before she could say another word, Nick had scooped her up and carried her back the bed. Before he could make another step, however, a sharp pain exploded in his wrist and he was on the ground, Judo Judy standing over him.

"Not so fast, slick. I may have been pure until last night, but I have a _"Once every 24 hours"_ policy." She said, grabbing his cheeks. As she did this, he felt an overwhelming wetness envelop his face. Wait a minute… He felt his face and his body where Judy had been.  
Wet. She had made sure to be as close to him as possible to get payback for licking her. Drenched in his own drool…

"I'm going to the shower first!" she said, running away from him, waving her cottontail teasingly as she did so. NO! If something as viscous as his saliva remained on his fur for more than a minute, it would stick it together and it would be as grinding and tedious to wash his fur afterwards as that one time Chief Bogo had made them wipe graffiti off of City Hall as a "municipal a ssignment" (which was, in fact, punishment for persuading Wolford and Del Gato to leave their posts as meter maids that day in order to help them track down a bank robber). He chased after Judy. The shower would be his…

"Stop! Carrots you have short fur, you can afford to get it wet, I can't!" he pleaded as he continued chasing her out of the room and into the corridor. She dived into the bathroom, locking the door just as he was about to enter.

"Then you shouldn't have been such a dumb fox and kept your tongue to yourself!" she said cheerfully from the other side as he heard the water turning on. He sighed and slumped against a bookshelf in defeat.  
Yet, at the same time… he wasn't upset or felt as if he had lost something.  
Not at all. That was the magic that his precious Carrots carried. A smirk had found itself on his muzzle once again, even as he was thinking how hard it would be to get his coat to be as shiny as ever after this much waiting.

"Nick my boy… you are one lucky fox…"he whispered to himself.

"I heard that!" said Judy loudly over the water. Nick's ears shot up in surprise and then drooped in defeat.

She would so be using that quote against him for a week… But he still smiled.

 _"Sly bunny."_ He thought to himself.

"Dumb fox!" said Judy over the water. Nick gasped in shock. How did she hear him, he was only thinking!

"Don't think I can't tell what you're thinking about! Seriously, is there any other description possible right now other than "your little sly bunny?" " She asked. Nick burst out in laughter, almost knocking over the bookcase.

Oh, their life would be so _much_ better now…

* * *

Hours later, they were both sitting on the couch, in a position much like when they woke up earlier.

It wasn't even noon, and yet Nick had managed to persuade Judy to binge-watch Netfurix shortly after she had cooked up a blueberry pancake breakfast (delayed slightly as Nick took an hour long shower to get all the sticky bits of his own drool out of his fur). Judy just sat on Nick's lap, leaned against him as much as possible, so content and relaxed that if it weren't for her half-lidded eyes, she'd have looked asleep.  
Sudden jolts of energy in which she held Nick's paw like a vice and breathed heavily or even cried were present whenever there was an emotional scene, Nick always mocking her about bunnies being emotional, but she didn't seem to care, simply holding Nick even closer, not because she was truly scared or saddened (even though she was much more prone than Nick to shedding a tear at a TV show), but because she simply wanted to be as close as possible to her fox, and being unnerved by a mere sad moment from one of Nick's overly cheesy and sappy TV shows (like "The Flash" a show in which a sloth gets the power of super speed. Really? She only wished that the sloth who actually got that power was _the Flash_ that they knew…) seemed like a decent enough excuse.

Just as Nick threw more of the fried crickets in his awaiting muzzle, Judy came to a realization: while her cheese-carrot nachos were nearly untouched and she made a point out of not eating too much junk food, she remembered that this was about the time she was supposed to jog at the park, followed by two hours in the ZPD gym.

Now she was sitting on a couch, stuffing her face with crisps and sickeningly-sweet soda. Judy snapped her head at Nick who continued shoving cricket-chips in his muzzle while Flash was fighting a wolf who could turn into poison gas. Yes, they had done it. And it was so cheesy and stupid that it was awesome.

"Nick!" she yelled suddenly.

"Yea, Cahhwats?" he responded, slurring his words because of his stuffed maw.

"You forgot that I was supposed to work out now! Argh, and I was just getting back into shape after my time in the hospital!" she groaned, kicking an empty soda can of Mountain Deer.

"I knew that, Hopps." Said Nick, graveling his voice in order to sound like a certain buffalo police chief.

"Just don't care." He finished smiling, stealing some of Judy's nachos right under her nose.

"Nick!" she yelled at him stealing her snack.

"What, I'm helping you maintain your diet! Mmm, the carrot mixes well with the nacho cheese!" he exclaimed, grabbing the entire bowl and stuffing his face with her snacks.

Judy groaned and picked up another can of Mountain Deer, popping it open. How the heck was he not fatter than Gideon Grey?  
He ate mostly junk food and frozen stuff (except for when she cooked for him) and never went to work out or jog unless she forced him to do so or if Wolford, DelGato and the rest of the boys had a get-together at the precinct gym.  
But she loved even that about him.  
Her mother had once told her that you know you love someone when you also love all their little faults and irregularities. She had always thought that to be a bunch of moldy carrots, until now.  
She didn't want anything to change about Nick, even if what he did would have made any healthcare expert kill himself. Just as she kept on sitting through Nick's overly cheesy yet stupidly fun TV shows, the doorbell rang.

Nick shot up and suppressed a scream.

"It's my mother!" yelled Nick before Judy could ask what happened. Nick quickly grabbed all the snacks and drinks and ran to the kitchen with them. Judy just watched Nick's panic dumbstruck. Why was he so worried? It was just his mother visiting him after he had a nearly fatal accident! Oh, well, it was more of a self-defense mechanism whenever parents came to visit, she thought.  
Nick was already out of his stained shorts and white tank top and into something a bit more presentable: not the hideous shirt and tie that his mother vehemently disapproved of, but black jeans with a dark blue v-neck t-shirt Judy had gotten for him in an effort to mend his dreadful fashion tastes. Judy didn't need to worry about clothing, as even indoors during free time she cared about her appearance: black training pants with a dark-blue ZPD t-shirt.

"What if she finds out?" he asked in a whisper.

"Huh?" she replied.

"About us, I mean. I haven't told her that we love-" his voice was interrupted by another ring.

Judy swallowed a lump. She hadn't thought about that. While she wasn't planning on keeping her relationship with Nick a secret, she really wanted to tell it at her own pace. There was no way you could casually tell someone's fox parent that you've been loving each other behind their backs, heck, _a bunny sleeping with a fox…_ as kind and loving as Miss Wilde was, she didn't know how she would react.

She wasn't nearly as worried as Nick, though, as she was sure that even in that eventuality, she would be able to explain how and why they loved each other, especially since Miss Wilde had made certain… subtle remarks after she found out that they were moving in together…

Nick opened the door as Judy moved beside him to greet his mother. Miss Wilde was an elderly vixen, in her sixties, but she looked no older than fifty, her muzzle only having the slightest hint of grey near her nose, the same emerald eyes of her son. She stood as tall as she could, back problems being completely absent, only standing a few inches beneath Nick.  
She wore a cheap, yet respectable dark green dress and round spectacles, as well as a rather posh handbag, thanks to Judy, Nick and Bogo pressuring City Hall to give her a proper pension check.  
Judy and Nick noticed she was carrying several plastic bags, most likely treats for Nick, now that he was back home.

"Oh, I'm so glad you're home, Nicky!" said Rose Wilde as she enveloped them both in a tight hug.

"Come in, Miss Wilde!" said Judy.

"Judy, dear, how long have we been over this? Just call me Rose, you make me feel ancient!" she chuckled as she removed her coat and handbag and made her way into the living room.

"Nicholas!" she yelled as she saw Nick desperately trying to clean up the Nacho crumbs and Mountain Deer cans off the couch.

"How many times have I told you not to make such a mess!? For God's sake, it's not even noon and you're already behaving like a couch potato! Goodness gracious, I'd have thought all that physical education at the police academy would have taught you to be more active!" she yelled at her son, much to Judy's amusement, who was snickering behind her. Nick's ears were flattened and his eyes were aimed straight at his feet as his mother lectured him.

"Nice to see you too, momma…" mumbled Nick.

"Good thing I brought you some proper, healthy food. Here!" she said, placing the plastic bags on the coffee table in front of the couch. Nick's ears went up and his expression turned to glee as he saw the outline of a pie tin through the bag.

"Is that…" Nick began, his mouth filling with water in anticipation. Rose smiled.

"Blueberry pie? Why of course, my dear Nicholas!" she said taking out the tin. Judy had to hold Nick by the tail to stop him from launching himself at the freshly baked treat. Judy didn't know why, but Rose Wilde was smiling widely and it wasn't just because she saw her son alive and healthy after he had been in a coma for weeks: no, it was a… knowing smirk.

"So, Judy, darling, you will have to excuse Nicholas for what he did this morning." She said, looking as if she was struggling not to burst out laughing.

"Huh? What did Nick do this morning?" she asked, feeling her chest blossoming with worry. What did Nick do in the morning? Well, he had lick-

Judy's thoughts halted as she felt her heart turn to ice. _Oh no._

"You'll have to excuse him, us foxes, and canines in general, can't help it. Licking someone is simply the way we show affection, don't hold it against him." She said as casually as if asking what TV show they were watching.  
Nick choked on the blueberry pie and quickly grabbed a half-empty can of Mountain Deer and poured it down his throat in a valiant effort not to suffocate to death. Judy's mouth was completely agape and Nick's eyes were as wide as onions.  
It looked as if both of them had forgotten to breathe. Rose was just staring kindly at the both of them, the sweetest and gentlest of smiles being on her greying muzzle.

"You two smell like each other." She stated simply to the dumbfolded fox-bunny couple.

"And, you, Judy, smell like Nick's, well… morning breath. Nicholas, how many times have I told you to brush your teeth first thing you get out of bed?" she asked in a suddenly lecturing tone. Nick and Judy simply stood as still as the statues down in Growls Memorial Park, apparently both of them had forgotten how to breathe or blink. Eventually, however, Nick broke the silence.

"W-wait. You… approve of us?" he asked in a disbelieving, stuttering tone. The elderly vixen's kind smirk grew. It was easy to see where Nick had gotten his smirking abilities.

"My dear, sweet, Nicholas..." she said, a single tear running down her cheek.

"I wouldn't have preferred you to be with anyone else… She's the one who put your life back together, she's the one who reconnected me with you, she's the one who saw past your exterior and trusted you to be her best friend and partner, she's the one who finally made me proud of you, and most importantly of all… made you proud of yourself…" she said, sniffling. She slowly walked up to Judy and hugged her tenderly. Just as she was coming to back to her senses.

"Thank you, little bunny…" she said, tears of joy making their way past her eyelids. Eventually, Nick came out of his own state and joined the family hug, bringing the two people he loved the most in this world closer to him. For the first time since he had entered the halls of the ZPD, he felt like he had a family.  
Only that this wasn't just a family in a collegial sense of the word, not just friendly banter with Wolford and DelGato or taking down crooks or playing pranks on Bogo. Sure, he trusted them all with his life and he loved every single one of them like a brother, but this was his _true_ family. Blood.

"Sooooo… did you hear about the progresses in genetic science?" asked Rose, ruining the moment. Both Judy and Nick got out of the hug and looked puzzled at each other. The elderly vixen smiled and looked at the both of them with kindness and nervousness.

"Well… some scientists are aware of the problems that interspecies couples face and one of them is not being able to have kits. Well, they think that with proper research they could change-" she stopped when she saw the deep blush of the fox and bunny.

"Alright, alright, too far!" she said quickly. Judy and Nick's expressions confirmed that fact.

"-Judy, dear, if Nick starts licking you while you're asleep again, quickly catch his tongue! You know, there was this one time when he was a kit when his tongue got stuck to-

-Mom, can you please not bring that up?" groaned Nick. Rose smiled kindly at her son.

"I am merely giving your mate relationship advice, dear. And, here's another thing, Judy dear, if Nick says that he likes the way you smell or taste, don't take offense, us canines, you see, since we perceive everyone differently and are hyper-aware of our surroundings, so the smells of our loved ones, particularly our mates, bring great comfort to us. So if he ever says that he likes the way you taste or smell, don't think that it's because he's a predator or because he wants to eat- Oh Lord!" Rose exclaimed as she saw what effects her words had on her son.

Nick was breathing heavily and clutching his chest. How could she have brought up something like that after she knew what her son had nearly been forced to do? How could she have been this blind? But as she watched Nick hyperventilating, eyelids shut tight in a vain effort to send away the memories of digging his fangs into the flesh of the mammal he loved the most in this world, a single tear escaping his eye as he recalled her screams of pain and betrayal.

Nick wasn't in the apartment anymore. He was in the place of all his nightmares, the place in which his love stood bloody, just a few feet away from him. His visions and nightmares were always slightly different, but they always ended the same way: him mauling Judy to death and feasting on her carcass. It was always all too real. He could feel her screams carving their way into his ears, her hot blood staining his fur as it gushed out of her throat, her eyes…

This time, in this vision, Judy looked at him, not with sadness, not with fear, not with anger, but something far more calm, yet it was more terrifying than any of the emotion the Judy in his nightmares had shown: it was betrayal. The gaze of someone who had trusted someone with their life up until that point, only to be stabbed in the back. The gaze of someone whose best friend and lover killed them only to taste their flesh.

 _"Nick… why?..."_ of all the things she had said during his nightmares, her dream version had called him a bloodthirsty predator, a coward for not being able to fight the Night Howler and anything else his fragile mind could come up with. However, this had been the worst thing his traitorous brain had come up with. Nick screamed as light blinded him, such a powerful contrast from the dark basement in his dreams that his eyes were hurting.

"Judy!" he screamed. He knew that it had all been a vision, a "fear sequence" as his female cheetah psychiatrist had called it, but he didn't care. Logically, nothing had happened, Judy was alive and well and he was out of the Night Howler's influence, but he _needed_ to know. It was something he could not help, a need to see Judy's compassionate amethyst eyes, a need to feel her fur, to hear her sweet, soothing words that she was alive and that everything that happened had not been his fault.

"Nick! I'm here! I'm here, love." She said, making sure to look at his as soon as possible, something she learned while dealing with his panic attacks that calmed him sooner.

"Judy?" he asked, his pawpads moving quickly to feel her slender, powerful frame. The doe smiled, placing a kiss on his forehead, holding him tightly.

"It wasn't you. The real you is here, I am here. Focus on me, Nick." Said Judy, cradling his head in a way Nick's psychiatrist had taught him, recalling everything the kind cheetah had taught her. Nick's sobbing had begun, nonetheless and she was powerless to do anything but hold him as lovingly as possible as she waited for his stance to pass, just like she had last night.

Wait, maybe… Judy rushed into her bedroom to retrieve the pills and grab a cup of water. As she did this, Rose Wilde fought the urge to hug her son tightly and sob into his chest as violently as possible, but she knew that it would probably worsen his condition. She had witnessed her son going through a mental and emotional breakdown just within seconds of her joking with his lover about canine romance rituals.  
She had never seen her son in so much pain… not while he was in a coma with dozens of tubes and machines being the only thing that kept him alive, not after she kicked him out when he was eighteen, not when he was beaten up by his "fellow" cub scouts and crushed all his dreams and expectations, never. And for the first time in her life, she felt truly powerless to help her son.

It was always her son who picked himself back up after being put down by life. He was the one who made a living by braving the streets of Zootopia, he was the one who had the initiative to become a cub scout, he was the one who became a cop after a certain bunny had made him see himself for what he truly was.

She could only act on instinct as she held her son tightly while singing a long-forgotten lullaby that she knew put the long-gone tiny fox pup to sleep, and the same lullaby that had ceased his crying when he came back bruised and tearful from the scout meeting. She had only seen her son all grown up as a strong, independent mammal.  
She had seen him become a police officer, she had seen him talk to the press all wide smiles and sarcastic quotes, she had seen him talking with cops six times his size as casually as if they had been friends all their lives, she had seen him rushing into danger without a second thought.

She had never seen her strong, proud son this… broken. She had heard of it from Judy, the doctors and Chief Bogo, but actually _seeing_ him like this, especially knowing that something that she said was the source of it… was too much.

"I'm here!" said Judy, a bottle of pills and a glass of water in her paws. Nick had calmed down, but he was still breathing heavily, eyes shut tightly, a few tears making their way past the barrier. Judy took out a couple of pills and handed them to Nick. He only took one.

"Already… got one… in the morning…" whimpered Nick as he swallowed the pill. "Can't… overdose… might…" Nick didn't need to say anything else. Judy and Rose both knew what antidepressants and anti-anxiety medication could do in the long run.

Addiction, poisoning, loss of consciousness or even death were possible. That was why he was still going to therapy with his psychiatrist as well as group therapy with other Night Howler victims. After swallowing the pill, Nick visibly relaxed and he slouched backwards on the couch, the pill having worked its magic.

"I'm so sorry, Nicky…" sobbed Rose.

"It's not your fault, mom. Almost everything has the potential of reminding me of that day. I just need to look out and find a way to shield myself from such thoughts, even if I see something that reminds me of… that day…"he said, rubbing his mother's back in an effort to soothe her, as it was now his turn to calm his mother and assure her that everything was alright. The small family was cuddled around itself, Nick, Rose and Judy all hugging each other, each in the hopes of soothing the other.

Nick's phone chiming brought them all out of their thoughts.

"Huh, what is it?" asked Judy. Nick grinned as he looked at the screen. Seeing that smirk back on his muzzle was enough to warm the hearts of Judy and Rose.

"Remember Dr. Richard Mane?" asked Nick.

"Yeah, the one who treated you and then turned out to have a relationship with the antelope nurse." Recalled Judy.

"Well, his offer for a double date is ripe for the taking today! What do you say, Carrots? Ready to go on our first "official" date?" asked Nick.

Both Judy and Rose beamed at Nick, not just at the news of the double date, but at seeing him back and recovered so quickly.

"-Well, I'd better go now. I'm so glad you two finally realized how much you love each other! Seriously, I've been telling Nick so many times, " _just tell her, dear!"_ but noooo, he had to be all concerned about-

-Yeah, yeah, momma, now we uh… have to get ready for the date!" said Nick, blushing, stopping her just before she continued her embarrassing speech. She had done more than enough of that for one day…

* * *

The earliest hours of the evening made the sun dip just below sea level, bathing the streets of Zootopia in a heavenly orange glow, all the hustle and bustle of city life seemed soothed and calmed beneath nature's art.  
But Nick Wilde wasn't looking at the beauty of dusk, but at Judy Hopps, dressed in a bright purple dress which went with her eyes perfectly and a golden necklace with a green-orange jewel which (of course) seemed to resemble a carrot. Nick had never seen the jewel before, heck he had never even seen her with jewellery before, and she looked just perfect without it, but he had to admit that the slight glint of the carrot jewel in the dying daylight combined with how the golden chain hugged her slender neck made him appreciate her lapine beauty even more.

Nick himself was wearing a navy blue suit with a white shirt and a baby blue tie, which Judy had to admit went with his fur _way_ better than that horrendous green Pawaiian shirt while the navy blue also gave him a slight sense of being a cop. It fit him perfectly.  
They were both seated on the bench designed for animals their size in front of their apartment block.

"So…" began Nick. "When Richard and Amanda the antelope nurse came in on us… were you more surprised that they caught us or that they were just like us?" inquired Nick. Judy's ears flushed bright red and she chuckled slightly as she remembered that moment.

"I was just glad that they didn't consider it weird and we could continue kissing. God, first time making out and we get caught! What are the chances!" she said hapilly, punching Nick's shoulder as he himself started laughing.  
First they get caught by his doctor, then by his mother.

God, they really sucked at this, didn't they? But as long as they were terrible at just hiding it and not actually _doing_ it, she was fine with it, she thought as she cuddled up against her fox on the bench.

"Carrots, mammals are staring…" said Nick as she did so. Indeed, while many mammals merely shrugged it off and continued on their merry way, many stared at them for a second like they were naked and then trudded off hastily.

"Don't care…" she whispered.

"You'll ruin my suit!" said Nick, running out of arguments.

"So? My fur will only make it look better…" she teased. There was just no stopping a bunny girl when she wanted something romantic, was there? He had learned that the night before. Who was he kidding, they had waited for the lion and the antelope long enough. While they weren't late, they had both decided to get out of the apartment block fifteen minutes before they arrived, Judy was impatient... Nick closed his eyes and gave in to his doe's wishes, dipping his head down for a kiss…

"Hey... hey lovebirds!" they both heard. That _sure_ got their attention.

They shot up and looked in the direction of the voice. Sure enough, an expensive orange sedan was parked in front of them, a lion at the wheel with his antelope mate beside him. They were once again, smiling widely as they caught them in the act…  
The lion's bright orange mare shone in the dawnlight, giving him a proper appearance of a king. His square glasses evidenced his large, friendly hazel eyes.  
He was wearing the classic jet-black tuxedo with a red tie, and he wore it quite elegantly, and the lack of creases showed that it was tailored.

Amanda the antelope had small, bright blue eyes, which were continued by her smooth, black and white lines beneath her eyes, the natural beauty of the fur around her eyes accentuated by make-up.  
Her horns were quite short and thin, yet it made her even more elegant (her lion boyfriend always teased that if they were any longer she'd scratch up the roof of the car. A statement that usually got him a hoof in the ribs, but he never did stop teasing). She was wearing a simple, yet elegant red dress which accentuated her slender beauty and a discreet, yet beautiful gold necklace

"Can't keep your paws off each other, eh?" he asked chuckling as the fox and bunny blushed deeply once again. They could feel the mirror of the situation very well. How the heck did they allow themselves to get caught like this _twice_?

"Don't worry, we're the same." Said the antelope in a sweet voice.

"Exactly! I have no idea how she has such a soft touch, I mean, she's got hooves, they should- OW!" the young doctor finished his cheeky speech when the antelope smacked his upside the head with her hoof.

"They can be hard when I want them to be." She stated dryly, yet with a warm smile.

"Heh, heh… right…" he said, rubbing the sore spot on the back of his head. This was their banter? Judy and Nick guessed they resembled the hospital power-couple in more ways than one…

"Well, hop in!" he said, getting out of the car and holding the door open for the two of them. Judy glared upwards at the large lion. Nick realized that it was at his use of the word "hop". "What?" he asked as he looked at Judy's peeved gaze.

"Ohhhh…" he said as realization dawned on him. Telling a bunny to "hop to it" or something along those lines was nearly as offensive as calling them cute. The lion then smiled widely.

"Pun not _originally_ intended." He stated, causing both Nick and the antelope to burst out in laughter. Judy had a good mind to give the lion a good smack of her own, but she realized it was a bit too much to embarrass him in front of his date to the point of getting whooped by a bunny. (even if said bunny actually managed to take down rhinos)  
The smiling lion went to the driver's seat as soon as he placed the fox and the bunny on the comically oversized backseat, stealing a kiss from his girlfriend before he turned on the engine, which she gladly reciprocated.

Judy and Nick were surprised by how natural they looked together, despite how… unnatural the whole situation was. Then again, if wonderful relationships like this would never happen, then why did they evolve in the first place? It was as if fate had made these two irregular couples meet.

"We're off to one of my favourite places. It's where me and Amanda had our first date." Said the lion.

"Nothing to take your mind off things and to heal up better than a double date. Doctor's orders!" said the lion chuckling.

"Heh, yeah. Thanks again for patching me up, doc." Said Nick.

"Don't mention it. Just doing my job." Said the lion.

"Doctor, you saved my mate's life. I had him by my side last night because of you." Added Judy before Nick could say a word.

"And I have _her_ by my side because of you. You don't owe me anything." Said the lion doctor.

"More than that, I have my job because of you. I was able to save hundreds of mammals because of what you did during the Night Howler case." Said the doctor, suddenly changing his tone, and while they couldn't see his face, Nick and Judy were able to see his gaze turn nostalgic and painful in the rear-view mirror.

"Right after preds were believed to be going savage, I was fired, along with thoasands of other pred doctors. No one wanted a predator doctor. Six years of getting my degree and five years as a resident gone down the drain in a blink of an eye, no chance to get them back, regardless of the fact that I already had a stellar successful operation record despite only being one year in there. And she…" he stopped when he saw his mate dropping her head in shame. Judy half-expected her antlers to go droopy.

"I… I betrayed him." She said in a broken voice. Richard took Amy's shoulder and squeezed her gently, looking in her blue eyes kindly.

"No, you didn't, love. You were just afraid. How many times did I tell you that I forgive you?" said the lion, stopping at a red light.

"But… I abandoned you when you needed me the most. When everyone thought you were killer, when you were fired, I wasn't there for you. More than that, I… I called you killer and I accused you that the only reason you were dating me was that so you could… eat me…" she said, a few tears rolling down her cheeks. The lion didn't remain indifferent, he cradled her head much more gently than one would think that someone of his size and strength was capable of and kissed her inbetween the horns.

"It's alright, Amy. Don't cry. Know that even after you said that to me and while every single prey in the city turned their backs to me or even reported me to the cops for crimes I didn't commit, I never stopped loving you. I never hated you, not for a second." He said in a tone that made Nick and Judy realize that this wasn't the first time he was saying this to his mate. Amy chuckled.

"God, you're so cheesy." She said.

"One of my many qualities. Now stop these little antsy tears, you're upsetting the passengers." The antelope laughed and punched him lightly in the ribs at his terrible "antsy" pun.

"No, it's okay. We're glad to know that I'm not the only one who did that mistake." Said Judy.

"I… I reached for my fox repellent right after I held that damned press conference. He tested me and…" Judy's voice trailed off as she recalled discovering spiecesism within her that she didn't even know existed in the first place. It wasn't love for Nick back then, no, but it had been _something…_

"Well, we're lucky they love us. And we're lucky that we had the opportunity to learn from our mistakes." Said Amy to Judy, smiling kindly at the small doe. The lion kissed the antelope's forehead.

"Hey, it's not like I didn't make mistakes. That's what makes us animals. And that's what makes us unique." He said, large hazel eyes staring into blue.

"You guys can kiss. We won't mind." Said Nick, smiling slyly. The lion and the antelope then shrugged and nearly closed the gap. A loud honk made them all shoot up in their seats.

"Fucking predophile! If it were up to me, you'd all be put up against the wall and shot!" yelled an irate pig driver in an old rusty car. The green light still hadn't come on.

The lion said nothing, but glared at the large pig. The mammal was large and obese, even for a pig and wearing a stained white tank top. He looked almost like he was half-elephant.

"Yeah, keep glaring at me, you fucking savage! I'll tear you apart!" yelled the pig, popping the glovebox and retrieving something which resembled a tire iron, completely ignoring the fact that the large lion could have torn him to bits in a second. That was it!

Judy opened the window and hopped on the roof, Nick doing the same, taking care not to dirty their expensive suits.

"Yeah, and what the hell do you want, you into fucking each other as well?!" yelled the pig, getting out of the car, twirling the tire iron with an inexperienced move, hitting his own overgrown belly in the process. With a swift move, both Nick and Judy flashed their badges. The pig's skin went white and he dropped the iron.

"Officers Hopps and Wilde, ZPD. You're under arrest for verbal harassment and for hate-crime." She said, Nick simply putting on his sunglasses for his best "badass cop" look (his own words).

"Oh shit!" yelled the pig, getting back into the car and speeding away as quickly as the hunk of junk would allow him.

"You're not getting away!" yelled Judy, taking her radio out of her purse with the intent of calling him in. The lion got out of the car and stopped her.

"Enough, he's not worth it! I'm not in the mood to spend my romantic evening giving police statements to put some pig behind bars for two weeks tops, afterwards he gets out with an even bigger hatred towards couples like us!" he said wisely.

As much as Judy hated letting an offender escape, she agreed. She and Nick hopped back in the car through the window with a swift move.  
Several cars started honking as the green light had been on for a few seconds and the lion's car blocked the way.

"Hey, lion, go after that bacon piggy and kick his ass! Don't let him talk like that 'bout you and your girl!" yelled a burly tiger in a sports car, obviously rather peeved by the speciesist pig. Richard ignored him and freed the road as fast as he could.

"Sorry about that, Officers." Said the lion.

"Nothing we can do about people like that, except ignore them. A circus needs an audience. When there's no one to give them attention, the circus stops and all that's left are the lonely, sad clowns." Said the lion wisely.

"Hah! Nice metaphor, bud!" said Nick. Judy had learned in history class long ago that the wisest and fairest leaders were usually lions. She could see why now…

"Here we are!" said the lion after a few more minutes. They were in Sahara Square, the scorching heat making Nick wish he hadn't put on such a hot, elegant suit.  
While it was the last hours of dusk, the sun here still managed to remain powerful. The oriental buildings fit the artificial desert perfectly, and while there was nearly as much traffic here as anywhere else in Zootopia, it seemed oddly quieter.  
The small, elegant buildings contrasted against the glass and steel megastructures Nick and Judy were used to.  
In the distance, they could see the massive Palm Arms Casino, the towering, palm shaped establishment looking over the entire district.

The restaurant they had pulled up in had a vibe of exoticism that was unique even for Zootopia. The outside resembled a ruined temple like that of Pawbilon, several strategically placed overgrown weeds completing the desired look. While there were no visible windows, Nick and Judy realized that it was at least two-stories high.  
Even though this sort of structure would have been seen more often in the Rainforest District, it still looked at home, several elements of Savanah architecture present in the temple. There was a cave-looking hole attached to the exotic restaurant labelled "parking". Judging by the size of the cave, this restaurant got quite a lot of customers.

"Ahhh, welcome, Mr. Mane and your lovely fiancé!" came a sharply dressed young leopard doorman with a cheery attitude. He was as thin as a plank, keen green eyes and a smile which rivalled that of Clawhauser. In fact, Judy thought, the only noticeable difference was that Benjamin was at least three times his weight.

"We're not actually engaged yet, Bengal." Said Richard with a smiling figure that made the fox and rabbit realize it wasn't the first time he told the doorman this.

"Yeah, yeah, whatever. I get to be the best man, right?" asked the leopard back at which the lion rolled his eyes and the antelope laughed.

"I see you brought friends! Wait… ARE THOSE OFFICERS HOPPS AND WILDE! OMG, THE SAVIORS OF THE PREDATORS! Let me get a picture!" said the leopard, his shaking paws taking a smartphone out of his breastpocket. Judy chuckled somewhat nervously at their "fan". Yup, definitely a distant relative of Clawhauser.  
Richard laughed kindly as he got out of the car and handed the keys to the overly excited kid.

"Alright, you can ask for their autographs later, park the car now." Said the lion, holding the car door open for his date and then for his guests.

They all entered the peculiarly designed restaurant. Nick and Judy sighed in relief as the air conditioner from entrance greeted them. While the lion and the antelope may have preffered high temperatures, Nick had to fight with every fiber of his being not to pant like all canines do, but he had an image to uphold.  
Zootopia's first fox cop panting like a canine hobo wouldn't have looked too good had a paparazzi spotted them.  
The inside of the restaurant was unique, to say the least. The walls were made to look like they were made out of clay, yet there was nothing austere about their design.  
On the walls, the fox and bunny noticed a tribal shield with two crossed spears, a ceremonial tribal mask as well as several paintings depicting ancient predator and prey tribes making peace.  
A lion shaking paws with a zebra, their tribes standing behind them. Judy noticed that even the artist was aware that it was an uneasy peace. Their stares were blank, and their tribes stared daggers at each other, silently keeping their paws and hooves close to their spears.

Nevertheless, this uneasy peace led to the formation of Zootopia. And while some animals had moved past those cavemen that were imagining each others' heads on pikes while making "peace", others continued to listen to nature's instincts of fear and hatred, forgetting that the days in which those feelings were necessary for raw survival were long gone and were no longer necessary.  
Thankfully, while Nick and Judy's achievements didn't have an enormous impact on pred-prey relations, they still made some animals think that if they were speciesist, they were no better than Bellwether.  
The restaurants' patrons were mostly animals from Saharra Square, lions, cheetahs, antelopes, gazelles, hippos, rhinos, zebras, even a few hyenas, all sharply dressed conforming to the dress code. However, there were also mammals of all shapes and sizes from all over Zootopia, as this was quite a famous restaurant.

There were a few large rhinos and lions in tuxedos leaned against the walls. The fox and the rabbit's keen eyes, accentuated by police training saw almost invisible bumps in their suits caused by holstered guns, batons and radios, these were certainly bouncers. Various delicious smells hit Judy's nose and especially Nick's sensitive snout.  
There seemed to be a lot of dishes with grilled crickets, bugs and protein supplements for predators, heavily spiced with traditional savannah spices, but Judy's nose also detected several types of salads, best of all, most of them seemed to include carrots. A young female gazelle hostess in a white shirt, black waistcoat and bowtie greeted them.

"Good evening, Mr. Mane, Mrs. Hoofston. I see you brought friends! So wonderful to see animals not let their own species limit their who they fall in love with!" she said with a warm smile.

"Hi, Ella, good to see you're working the shift tonight. We've reserved a table for four. As you can see, our friends are, well… of the smaller mammal variety." Said the doctor, finally finding the right words not to be offensive. The gazelle smiled.

"That shall not be a problem. Follow me." She said. They had been seated at a table quite close to the exit, yet sufficiently far away from the louder parts of the restaurant. Richard seemed to be a long-time patron here, most likely tipped kingly, it was only natural he'd get a good table, Judy thought.  
The gazelle hostess went to two of the chairs and fiddled with some dials on them. Nick and Judy watched in awe as the seats rose closer to the table, the legs of the chair also ejecting a sort of ladder for smaller mammals to climb.

"Our facility is fitted for all types of mammals." She claimed proudly. While after climbing and faced with the lion and the antelope they felt every bit as small as they did at the ZPD, like there, they also felt important and like they were part of a group.  
The hostess handed Richard and Amanda their menus and she also pulled out smaller menus for Nick and Judy from her inside pocket.

"A waiter shall come to take your order momentarily." She said, the same warm smile on her muzzle.

"I love this place." Sighed Richard as straightened his sleeves.

"It really is pretty amazing." Admitted Judy, still in awe how the rudimentary tribal artwork managed to still give this place an air of elegance. A natural spring was right in the middle of the restaurant, the cool water mixing with the air conditioning and the plants around the spring, giving the already cool air a pleasing smell of Savannah plants, mixed with the delicious smells of the restaurant's exquisite dishes.

"Well, Nick, it took someone else to drag us here in order for you to finally take me somewhere nice." Teased Judy.

"Come on, Carrots, we've only been technically dating for a couple of weeks, and I should remind you, up until yesterday I was in a coma! I'd have taken you to The Ambassador's if I had the time!" said Nick, his sly smile growing.

Sly fox: one. Dumb bunny: zero

"Really? Carrots? That's how you call her?" asked Amanda, seeming to almost burst out in laughter.

"Hey, as long as I don't call her 'cute' I'm fine." Said Nick, shrugging his shoulders in a " _I didn't do nothin'!_ " stance.

"You better not call me cute in here. Don't think that I won't kick your tail just because we're in a public place." Said Judy threateningly, but playfully at the same time. Nick turned to the couple in front of them.

"Yeah. She's scary." He said simply, at which the lion and the antelope laughed.

"I think I should get my "pred" card revoked. She can whoop me in sparring training like I'm nothing! You know, I heard she once KO-ed a rhino with one kick in the academy. I only made it to tigers!" said Nick in his classic, sly, social animal tone with which he always hooked their ZPD fellow officers and swayed them with greatly exxagarated stories of his police tales.  
Like how the incident of a wolf with a baseball bat he took down turned into two lions with samurai swords and somehow they still bought it. The lion continued chuckling.

"Don't worry pal, you're not alone. I honestly have no idea how my ancestors defeated antelopes. My sides are constantly bruised thanks to those hooves whenever I say something overly sappy to her, and don't even get me started on the horns!" he said in fake-terror, making a mock-shudder. His partner laughed and playfully nudged the lion with her horns.

"See? If she wanted, she could kill me right now!" he continued his playful speech. Judy and Nick laughed at just how much these two were just like them.

"This is exactly why I started dating this crazy horn-lady. I like to live dangerous." He continued.

"Likewise. Why do you think I like those teeth so much?" Amanda said teasingly, somehow managing to give the slightest sway of her hips while still remaining seated.

"Darlin', we're in one of the most respectable restaurants in the city, please don't start your stories of how much you like my teeth and… other things." Said the lion in a whisper to his horny (pun intended) partner, only Judy catching what he said.

 _"It's that lion freak again!"_ Judy's head spun over to where she heard that voice. Having such sensitive hearing, she usually filtered everything she heard around. This, from a table a few dozen yards away, somehow got her attention. It was a hyena couple, the male pointing to their table for just a minute, pretending to be eating his soup as soon as Judy laid eyes on him.

 _"They brought others too. A fox and a bunny! Is this becoming a goddamn pervert club? I swear, these guys only date to satiate their primal instincts! They imagine eating each other the entire time they're banging!"_ said the female in barely a disgusted whisper. Judy's ears drooped, the harsh words making their way straight to her heart. She stared blankly at her menu, pretending to be thinking what salad to order.

"Carrots, sweetheart, is something wrong?" asked Nick, noticing his lover's blank, sad gaze.

"Oh, nothing, nothing, just… lost in thoughts!" said Judy, forcing herself to smile and her ears to stand up. Nick raised an eyebrow, but continued to scan the grilled protein stakes and other meals for predators, the simple description of the exotic dishes making his mouth water, the price range… not so much.

 _"I tell you, these freaks should be put in special districts, away from the public. If they want to screw their natural enemy, so be it, it's a free country, but keep it away from civilized mammals."_ Judy heard again.

She didn't care enough to turn her head to see who said it. She was considered a _freak…_ A freak for loving Nick…

It wasn't true. She didn't love Nick because he was a predator, she loved Nick for who he was, for his personality, for what he did for her and Zootopia, for the way he changed his ways and became one of the best cops in the city, for the way he treated her, his simple presence brightening her day…

But… what if it had always been in her subconscious? What if she really loved Nick because he was her natural enemy?  
Now that she thought about it, she was the first of her siblings to date a non-rabbit, much less a _fox…_

Was she some despicable deviant? Some disgusting fetishist?

"Don't let them see that they get to you." Said a familiar voice. Except that it wasn't Nick, this voice was rawer, more patient. It was the lion, looking at her with a compassionate hazel gaze.

"You think I haven't noticed?" he said, moving his head slightly in the direction of the hateful speeches.

"Noticed what?" asked Nick, his ears flattened, figuring out that it had to do with his bunny's sudden change of mood.

"Some of our fellow patrons expressing their… views on interspecies relations." Said the lion as calm as a monk, yet his face clearly showed annoyance and even a hint of hatred.

"What!? Judgemental bastards, don't they know bunnies hear everything!?" asked Nick with indignation.

"Keep your voice down, Wilde. Like I said, a circus is no good without an audience. It's only dumb, sad clowns making faces for themselves. Why should we give them an audience? Why should we let them win?" said the wise lion rhethorically.

Nick calmed a bit and kept looking in the steak-imitation menu. But involuntarily, he focused his own hearing.  
He heard it all.  
He had tried to shut it out. He had tried to not let what others say affect him, like he had done so many times in the past. He couldn't do it. Why? Because back then he truly was nothing but a shifty fox.  
Because back then, he had accepted who he was and had no intention of changing it. However now, he had changed.  
He was no longer running petty scams and even pettier thefts. He was an officer of the law.

And so was her. And he loved her. He loved her for what she did for him. He loved her for showing him what truly was inside himself.

Indeed, change started with him. He remembered the way he hung out with his fellow cadets at the Academy. It was the first time other animals respected him. All the other mammals from his class all treated him with respect and like one of their own.  
It was the first time in his life he had truly felt proud of himself. It was when Judy pinned the badge on his chest that he truly realized that he loved her.

And now, animals with the cursed prejudice that still lingered from the Dark Ages of predators hunting prey made Judy feel weak and disgusted with herself… It was one thing to have a disgusting pig in a rusty car curse at you, but respectable mammals at a posh restaurant saying things like this…

Don't give the audience to the circus… But what do you do when it's not a circus, and the instigators aren't clowns? They could have their minds changed. Then you can change the circus into something beautiful…

Nick glanced back at the hyena couple who were chatting (more like whispering) at a table quite a few yards away. Nick could see Judy struggling to lock out all of the harsh, cruel words sent by the hyenas as well as a few other patrons, but she was failing, a few tears finally leaving her amethyst eyes. It was then that Nick couldn't take it anymore. Seeing her pained expression, resigned, begging eyes leaking tears she looked just like when she was in the baseme-  
Nick shook his head as the cruel memory struggled to take control. He squeezed his eyes shut and used what little effect the pill he took at noon had left.

"Sir? Here is the wine you ordered." Said a hippo waiter as he brought a bottle of expensive wine alongside two large glasses and two much smaller ones. When the waiter came to Nick's side, he skilfully only poured just enough to fill Nick's glass by a half.

"Can you fill it to the brim?" asked Nick. The lion and the antelope raised an eyebrow, but the massive waiter smiled and poured a few more drops with such skill that it looked as if someone Nick's size had done the job. This guy could pour wine into glasses that were pint-sized for him, while Nick struggled to pour soda in a glass without turning the kitchen into a mess.  
Nick downed the glass in one go and glared at the hyena couple. There were others who had talked about them, but they were the ones who made Judy spill tears. Nick jumped off the seat.

"Where are you going?" asked the lion. "To take a leak." Nick bluntly replied.

"Hey, man, the toilet is on the other side!" Richard shouted, but he was ignored. It was then that the lion saw _where_ Nick was going.

"Shit!" he exclaimed, getting up, but the soft, familiar touch of a small hoof stopped him.

"Let him." Amanda said simply. Judy glanced too at Nick and she gasped when she saw that he was going toward the hyena couple that were badmouthing them. She gasped and every single one of her instincts told her to go there and stop Nick from whatever he was going to do, but something told her that Nick had a plan that would work out best for all of them.  
Nick stopped a little in front of the hyena's table. The male was wearing a simple, yet elegant black suit and his hair was combed backwards in a very neat, official fashion.  
Pens and several USB sticks visible from his pocket made Nick deduce that he was most likely an office worker, came from work in a hurry, picked up his date and went here for a night out.  
The female wore a simple, dark dress, and Nick had to admit that although hyenas were usually considered ugly by other canines, this lady could have probably found herself a wolf or coyote boyfriend quite easily.

From their clothing and their presence in the expensive restaurant, definitely upper-middle class. Nick noticed that the female was wearing an engagement ring, clearly engaged with the male.  
Hyena stereotypes were usually that of street thugs. They were much worse than fox stereotypes.  
While a fox was considered liable to lift your wallet, the hyena was thought to also slit your throat for it. Nick realized that this man had most likely had to fight stereotypes all his life to get where he was. His claws were under-developed, a clear sign of childhood malnutrition.  
Clearly raised in the slums, doomed to become a drug dealer, maybe a gang leader at best.  
Except that he defeated those stereotypes. He ignored everything other mammals said about him and his kind. He was a good mammal, with whom he could relate to. It would make changing his mind that much easier.  
The hyena stood uncomfortably under Nick's gaze, pretending to be eating his soup.

"Can I… help you?" he asked when he saw that the well-dressed fox wasn't going anywhere.

"May I ask you a question, sir?" asked Nick, struggling not to show his anger.

"Go right ahead." Said the hyena, eyeing Nick suspiciously.

"Why do you love her?" he asked. The female dropped her spoon with a loud clank and looked slack-jawed at the fox while the male merely raised an eyebrow, but Nick managed to see that he was every bit as shocked and peeved as his fiancé.

"I… beg your pardon?" asked the man.

"You heard me." Said Nick simply. The hyena glared at the smaller fox, and he clenched his fist behind him

. "I am afraid that is not your business. Look, I only came here with my girlfriend in hopes of a wonderful night out, undisturbed by judgemental strangers." He said in a dry tone, barely containing his anger.

"So did I." replied Nick. The hyena looked confused at the smaller canine, until he realized...

His eyes widened and he stammered, trying to say something to excuse the hateful exchange of words he had with his date.

"Don't say anything, spare your breath." Said Nick dryly.

"However, allow to answer my own question. Your reply to why you love her is most likely because she made you see yourself as more than what you thought of yourself. That she loved you for who you were and put you on the right path. Well…" Nick pointed at Judy, who was grinding her buckteeth in fear.

"I can say the same thing about her." He said, raising his tone without realizing it, making some of the nearby patrons. Nick turned to them as well. He moved his suit jacket slightly, showing the badge pinned on his belt.

"I'd be on the wrong side of the law right now without her!" he said more enthusiastically to the crowd. The clients started mumbling.

"It's that fox cop!" he heard, among other things.

"So what was I doing wrong, hyena? Tell me? Loving someone?" he asked. The man began to say something, but Nick cut him off.

"Don't tell me, you were going to say that I can't simply because I'm a fox and she's a bunny, right?" he asked shouting, his failed panic attack still having injected aggressiveness into him. Most of the patrons were now looking at the fox, who without even realizing it, was now holding a speech to the entire restaurant.

"Oh, so we say that all animals are equal and that our dark past is past. We say that we got over our natural instincts. Yet, when someone does something which our evolution allows, we fire back by saying it's not natural!" Nick shouted. Nick sighed heavily and walked over to Judy, who was staring unblinking at her brave fox.

"And I love her… for what she did for me. Not because she's a bunny. Not because I want to "prey" on her, not because I'm some disgusting fetishist, not because I want to do something "rebellious". But because…" Nick paused to look into Judy's two tear-filled purple mists.

"Because she saved me. And I can't imagine my life without her. Why? Because I wouldn't have a life in the first place without her. I would have probably conned the owner of this place into buying expired ingredients." He said.

"And they…" he said, gesturing toward the lion and the antelope.

"They save dozens of lives every day at Zootopia's biggest hospital. Just a few weeks ago, I was one of those lives. And they love each other because they are two souls alike bonded by doing the most noble task a mammal could do." He said, finishing his speech.

He sighed heavily, realization finally dawning over him how much of an ass he had made of himself. He turned toward the lion.

"I just embarrassed the shit out of myself, didn't I?" he asked, ears flattened against his scalp. He was surprised to see Richard and the antelope smiling.

"Not quite…" said Amanda, her smile widening. It was then that Nick heard clapping.

First it was only a few mammals, but then it sounded as if the entire restaurant was clapping. Nick turned around to see nearly all the patrons clapping at his speech. He stared slack-jawed at them for a moment before a smile found itself on his muzzle.  
He'd have taken a bow if Judy hadn't pulled him back onto his seat. She looked at him lovingly and… gratefully.

"Thank you, Nick." She whispered. She had never seen Nick that emotional, well, he had gotten emotional to her, but to see him in public like this… it made Judy understand just how much Nick was willing to change to make her feel as good as possible, even if it was just a couple making rude remarks.

And Nick was quite the speaker. Now that she thought of it, she was kinda embarrassed for letting those words get to her like they did, but it was all the better, as Nick was able to stir an entire crowd to his favour.

"Well, Officer Wilde… I guess I was wrong about the whole "circus" thing." chukled the lion.

"You weren't, Doctor. It depends on who is saying it.

These guys are all good, respectable mammals, they deserve a chance to have their minds changed. Meanwhile, that pig at the intersection... you were right that he wasn't even worth putting in a cell." Said Nick.

The lion smiled and looked around, the crowd's cheering having died down, but many were still looking kindly at the two irregular couples. He bent over and gave Amanda a quick kiss on the muzzle.  
Instead of the disgusted faces and hushed whispers that would follow (which made him save the kisses and… other things… for the privacy of their apartments), the patrons still smiled, some even giving the lion a thumbs up.

* * *

It was quite late in the evening when they all got out of the restaurant.

The food had been some of the best Nick and Judy had ever eaten. They had to admit that although the Savannah seemed like a pretty barren place, it had quite the delicacies to enjoy.  
It was later, when the owner, a lion himself, brought a bottle of his best champagne to the table, impressed and moved by Nick's speech. The lion had graciously accepted to only drink one glass, as he was driving.  
And of course, no matter how much Nick and Judy insisted to pay for what they ate, Richard had still paid the full bill, not wanting to hear anything. While Nick and Judy had taken care how much they drank, it seemed Amanda had liked the champagne a bit too much…  
She nearly fell as she stumbled on the steps that led out of the restaurant, but was caught by her sober lion.  
While the day in Saharrah Square was scorching, the night was strangely chilly.

"Well, someone liked their liquor a bit too much…" chukled Richard.

"Hey, I'm… fine, you big oaf, It's just… these heels… made me stumble…" slurred Amanda, her sweet voice still finding a way to sound just as warm and welcoming. The lion arched an eyebrow.

"You're not wearing any heels, darling. Just hoof glitter." Laughed out Richard.

"Really?" asked Amy, looking at her feet. She cursed under her breath.

"Worth a shot…" she whispered, trying to take a few more steps.

"Oh, no you're not." he said simply, scooping up the lean gazelle bridal style as easily as picking up the morning paper. She didn't protest one bit.

"I should get drunk more often…" she said laughing, giving her lion a quick, but passionate kiss as she was getting carried.

"No you're not…" he teased, placing her in the passenger seat.

"You're a nurse, honey. Gotta stay healthy. What kind of a role model are you for your patients?" he asked, gingerly buckling her seatbelt.

"We're going straight to your place, don't bother dropping me off…" she said in a strangely predatory tone for an antelope, eyeing the lion like prey about to be captured.  
He looked back at her with an identical gaze.  
The fox and bunny laughed and gave him a thumbs up, while Nick gave one of his knowing smirks. They both got in the back seats without another commentary, Nick holding the door open for Judy.

"Well… thanks for an awesome evening, doc." Said Nick, taking off his suit jacket so he could relax.

"No problem. And thank you, Officer Wilde for showing me that some folks deserve a chance to be talked to. We can make respectable mammals without too many deep-rooted prejudices see us differently." He said, driving off into the Zootopian night Downtown. The many lights of the architectural wonders of the city shone through, the night truly being when the city came to life.  
Judy glanced at the city's shapes and lights in awe. Even though she had lived in Zootopia for the better part of an year now, the spectacle of the most accepting place on Earth never ceased to amaze her. The lights only continued increasing in their spectacle as the lion approached their apartment block.

"Well here we are." Said Richard, pulling up.

"You know, Nick, Judy… it's been a pleasure and an honour. You should be the spokesmammal for the ZPD, Wilde! Well, anyway, you ever wanna hang out or if you need our help with anything…" the lion began talking, but was interrupted by Amanda grabbing him by his expensive tie.

"Oh, just let them go, chatterbox! We're going to your place, pronto, or I'm taking you right here in the car!" she half-shouted.  
While she wasn't quite fully drunk, the effects of one too many champagne glasses definitely showed.

The lion chukled, fixed his small, square glasses and pressed a button on the dashboard which made the back doors open.

"See you later, Officers! I gotta take care of this… _horny_ lady." He said laughing, earning him an antelope horn in the shoulder.

"That's the last time you're making a "horny" pun!" Nick and Judy heard as they waved off the lion and got into the apartment block.

"Well… that was quite the night." Said Nick smiling.

"I suggested Amy to go shopping sometime. I think the four of us will become great friends!" Judy said, being led by her sharply-dressed fox into the elevator.

"Just make sure she's off the bottle!" laughed out Nick. Just then, Nick's phone chimed.

He pulled it out of his coat pocket, looking at the text, his eyes narrowing slightly.

"What's wrong?" asked Judy. "It's from Harry." Said Nick.

"What is it?" she asked.

"Well…" he said, a half-smile on his muzzle.

"Looks like sick leave is over, Carrots." He said, showing her the text.

* * *

 _ **Alright guys, I know this chapter may have been a bit underwhelming after two months, but my college admittance and technical problems delayed me like crazy.  
I will soon be posting a poll on my profile with different oneshots/mini-series ideas. I will post an A/N once I do that.**_

 _ **Also, would you guys like to see Richard and Amanda in future chapters, maybe even their own oneshots?  
**_


	8. Chapter 7- He Who Lives By The Sword

**_Alright guys, sorry for another late update, but here is another chapter.  
This chapter is solely backstory for a character, which is something I've never really dedicated an entire 10k word chapter to.  
Please let me know if I did a good job._**

* * *

For Harry Clawhan, his life as far as he was concerned was divided in _before_ and _after._ His wife Isabelle, a young snow leopard with icy blue eyes and her black spots contrasted beautifully against her white fur. They had known each other since high school, but they never really started dating.  
It was when he was in the Academy, the gruelling physical training and all the studying made him want to quit that love blossomed.  
He knew that the Academy would be difficult, but this was just…  
He felt worthless, a pushover, he had never imagined becoming anything else other than a cop all his life. But now he had to accept that he just wasn't cut out for this...

It was when he decided to start packing and sign his way out when the rhino drill sergeant came into his room with a letter in his hand. The letter was from his then best friend, Isabella the snow leopard.  
She had written to him from her University from which she strived to become a Uni teacher herself, asking him how things were. She wrote how she was so profoundly impressed with his ambition to make the world a better place and put his life on the line.  
She jokingly recalled how he kept boasting to other feline girls how hard he trained, which earned him fake high school romances that never lasted more than two weeks.

It was then, when he imagined her disappointed face upon him quitting that he realized how superficial he had been.  
It was because of her that he finally got to work. He quickly boosted his way through all the tests, her sincere words of encouragement being all he needed.

It was one month later when he had a small vacation that he met the white-furred angel that saved his dreams. He kept asking himself why her words had such an effect on him, why did he care so much if she was disappointed in him that he quit, heck, there wasn't even any way that she could have found out that he quit if they remained separated, which was the most likely scenario.  
It was when he saw her face, months after being deprived of it, her beautiful slender frame somehow being the first thing he saw as he entered the corner café that he got his answer: he loved her.

 _Before_ was his wife's scent being his wake-up call.

Before was returning home with content in his heart, the grisliest murders being nothing but forgotten details as the smell of dinner hit his sensitive nose.

Before was his white angel with black spots and icy blue eyes.

Before was having something to return home to.

Before was reading her love letters as he was giving all he had in The Academy while he was still in training.

Before was seeing her blue eyes fill with tears of joy as he got down on one knee and proposed to her during the graduation party.

Before was hearing all his fellow cops root for him as he did this, yet simultaneously he heard nothing as he was hugging his beloved snow leopard after slipping the ring on her fuzzy finger.

Before was thinking how lucky he was to have someone as sweet and caring as Isabella be his other half, his difficult and at times horrific and even potentially fatal job seeming trivial with her to come back home to.

And then, just after he finished the seemingly trivial case of a couple of hyena gangbangers being shot to death while getting high in their "home" that his life also split into "after".  
The killer was one Lamar Spottington, one of the leaders of a small-time ghetto hyena gang, and the two victims were members of a rival gang.  
His experienced mind had no trouble figuring out from the ballistics report and placement of the shells that the weapon had to be a custom-made UZI.  
Harry couldn't believe how dumb Lamar had been: murder with a custom gun, bought locally using a real name when he killed someone as often as he brushed his teeth (actually, probably even more often judging from hyenas' general state of hygiene)

But only a week after the execution of the killer, was when his life turned into the dreadful _after_.  
It was a day like any other.  
His house was on the outskirts of Tundra Town, deciding to appeal more to his wife's preference of the cold rather than his own natural instincts, he had never been very picky about weather anyway, though the cold had made him adopt the habit to almost always wear a heavy trenchcoat, which his wife and colleagues always laughed that it made him look like straight out of a Deer Tracy cartoon.  
With their combined incomes, they had a house built in a slightly East-European style, befitting the style of the district, with at least a drizzle of snow always present on the front lawn, but it did nothing but to give the house further character, looking as if it truly came from the Tundra.  
The towering, icy structures of the district were to be seen in the distance, and even though he was a mammal more used to the humid heat of the Rainforest District, this winter wonderland alongside his snow leopard mate made him feel at home.

In that day, even his body told him there was something deathly wrong. He woke up with a killer headache, a groan being the first thing which escaped his lips. Not even the feeling of his wife's soft naked fur pressed against his own was enough to soothe it.

"Honey, are you alright? You look mighty pale, and with your fur, that's really saying something!" she teased, rubbing his jet-black pelt. He cradled her head and planted the best kiss his weakened body would allow. After that, she quickly grabbed his phone.

"Hey, what are you doing?" he asked as she punched a few buttons and put the phone to her ear.

"Yeah, Chief Bogo? This is Isabelle Clawhan speaking. Yes, my husband is quite unwell, fever, headache, couldn't lift him off the sheet. Could you give him a day off? I think he needs to recover after that hyena gang case." She said, smiling at her husband as he was staring slack-jawed at his wife while he was trying to pop open a bottle of aspirins in his daze.

"Yes, sir, I'll be sure to… _tell him…_ " she said, her smile growing into a devilish grin, her sharp teeth making his angel look like a succubus about to strike… and who was he to oppose?  
She hung up the phone and approached the bed slowly.  
He had no time for this and pulled her in with much more energy than a sick mammal should have been capable of. But she had a surprise of her own and twisted his arm by planting her left paw on his elbow and twirling him so she was on top.

"Looks like those self-defence moves you taught me finally found some use…" she purred. And then she began to _literally_ purr.  
As someone who had plenty of girlfriends both in high school and the year in which he got prepared to enter The Academy, having his partner purr wasn't something he wasn't used to.  
Except that his wife did it out of love. All his other feline girlfriends merely activated it mechanically as some sort of ancient mating ritual, but Isabella did it from the heart, as she was with her real mate, not some pointless fling.

"See, darling? I don't complain about migraines now, even though I have them!" he laughed as they began what they had craved for ever since Harry had been working overtime and undercover at the precinct for nearly a week. This comment earned him a slight angry scratch on his forearm.

"Be careful, _detective_ , don't anger a… known _serial criminal…_ who also chooses the same victim every time…" she purred as she bent over for a kiss…

* * *

Hours later, he woke up at the latest hours of the morning, his headache now something much worse thanks to the heated intimacies with his wife.  
Not only that, but he felt sick, much worse than when he woke up.

Still, the panther didn't regret what he did with his wife one bit…

He groaned as he stood up, clutching his forehead in a vain attempt to cease his headache.

"Honey, are you okay?" asked his wife.

"Yeah, don't worry, let me go make breakfast." He said, trying to get out of bed as quickly as he could, but his wife caught him and felt his forehead. She retracted her paw instantly.

"Harry, you're… burning up! Dammit, shouldn't have pressured you into-" she began apologizing.

"Don't worry, Spots, a blistering headache and a little fever is always worth the price of having you for…" he glanced at the clock.

"Two and a half hours, including the ten minute nap." He said smiling, earning him a gentle claw into his shoulder, just enough not to pierce his tough hide, but enough to feel her touch in the way only she knew how to do.  
It would be the last time he ever felt it...

"Alright, detective green-eyes, stay here, I'll go buy some aspirins. And don't you dare start smoking again, I hid your cigars." She said jokingly, starting to get dressed.

"How dare you!" he said in mock-indignation.

"Honey, I'll let you know that those things help me concentrate better." He said. His angelic leopard smirked.

"In that case, you should smoke better cigars, cloud-head!" she laughed out.

"Touché, Spots!" he chuckled.

After one last passionate kiss, Isabella left. Harry decided to open the window to allow the frosty Tundra Town air cease his headache. He sighed in relief as the biting cold cut into his hide, something which usually made him close all windows turn up the radiators and bunker in his house with whiskey, cigars and 50s movies as much as he could, but this time, the icy air entering his nostrils and piercing his jet-black coat made him lean against the window frame and drink it all in despite the fact that he was wearing nothing but boxers and a white tank top.  
The outskirts of Tundratown had its houses arranged suburbia style, yet it looked nothing like a Downtown sub. The houses all had curvy edges on the roofs and stained glass, giving them the aspects of mansions even though they weren't very large.  
There wasn't that much snow where he lived, a thin coat of white occasionally intercut with dull green grass and small Tundra flowers. However, he could see the true Tundra Town just a few miles away. T  
owering, circular towers covered in a thick layer of frost, the traditional Tundra architecture complimenting the winter wonderland better than any modern megastructure ever could.

He could see the massive Tundra Town Cathedral watching over the entire district, its towers ending with massive, onion-like, round domes, the vibrant colours contrasting against the light blue ice in a way that it could be seen for miles.  
Right next to the Cathedral was the main square, where the massive Frozen Bank was located.

Despite the quaint East-European feeling the district had, the hustle and bustle of Zootopia was present here as much as any district. Polar bears, moose, snow leopards, Siberian tigers, walruses, arctic wolves as well as smaller mammals such as penguins or arctic foxes.  
The visitors from the other districts were so wrapped up in many layers of clothing in an effort to combat Tundratown's artificial cold that it was impossible to discern which species they were.  
Even on their quitter street, the neighbours leaving for work were generating quite the bustle, a polar bear in a business suit leaving for work, kissing his wife and cubs goodbye. Harry smirked as he thought of the phrase "Papa bear", in fact, that's what he called his neighbour, Harry Clawhan got along with everyone in the small suburban neighbourhood of the district despite being the only panther in there.  
His wife leaving the house as she smiled at him from down there, an arctic vixen going to work, her professional business suit and attitude destroying any fox stereotype someone may have thrown at her. A hyena in a leather jacket standing near the corner-

Wait a minute… What was a hyena doing here? And why wasn't he wearing any thick clothing?  
Hyenas were Savannah animals, they could hardly stand to come in this district without enough clothes to make them look like giant wolves with winter coats. He was looking at the houses his way…  
And even though he was hundreds of yards away, the panther detective was able to notice evil intent and lack of emotion in the canine's eyes. His thug-like leather jacket looked… familiar…

His wife entered the car. As soon as she did this, the hyena started running in the opposite direction.  
Harry's heart dropped to his stomach.

"ISABELLE, GET OUT OF THE CAR!" he yelled as soon as he realized… It was in that very moment, when the explosion's shock wave made his insides vibrate, shattering the house's windows and his very soul, that his life turned into _after_ …

* * *

She was buried in the Tundra Town Brother Bear Memorial Cemetery. It snowed heavily on that day, despite the winter still being months away.  
The cold was irrelevant.  
Most of the other animals present were from Isabelle's family or neighbours, therefore their white fur contrasted from their black mourning clothes. It was only he who was completely pitch-black…  
His wife's corpse had been arranged by Bonasera the Honey Badger, a funeral parlour owner contracted by Mr. Big.  
Usually, Harry hated the fact that the ZPD had to work with the crime boss, but now, he had to admit, his wife almost looked like she was napping, he was grateful for Mr. Big's assistance. He half expected to hear her tiny purr-snores at which he would wake her up by nuzzling her…  
The several colleagues from the ZPD that had showed up saw Harry's face as stone cold, his eyes as emotionless as when he scanned a gruesome crime scene and made observations no one else could, yet they could see straight through his mask.  
Clawhauser had to fight hard not to break down himself. He could hardly imagine that the cheery leopard with snow-like fur would no longer come into the precinct to pick her husband up, she would no longer come and crack jokes with the other officers, she would no longer cheer up the toughest, no-nonsense cop in the precinct, she would no longer make "Stone-Cold-Harry" smile…

The plump cheetah didn't even want to imagine what was going through his ex-partner's mind… Harry and Benjamin had both been partners back when Harry was still a patrol cop.  
The panther was as by the book and robotic as anyone could be. Always spoke like a cop straight out of a ZPD afterschool special (except less cheery), never showed any emotion when jumping into firefights…  
One would think that being partnered with the then slightly thinner ZPD cheerleader, Clawhauser, would be a recipe for disaster. Nothing could have been further from the truth. During their time together, Harry learned to be more lenient and Clawhauser learned to be a better cop. T

hey were separated when a few years after their partnership, Harry was promoted to the Homicide Detective squad and Clawhauser was "promoted" to a full-time receptionist and dispatch manager, deskwork being much more his speed.  
But even then, his friendship with Harry Clawhan continued. It was even worth trekking all the way to Tundra Town to see his former partner and discuss everything from football to cases, Clawhauser offering his help multiple times.  
Despite his attitude and occasionally dumb deductions, Ben was far from a dimwit, at least when it came to knowing which cases connected to which and Harry was often surprised when Ben gave him the files to other cases which he didn't even know were connected.

And Isabelle was one of his best friends. He had to fight his own tears, he didn't want to think what his friend was going through…  
Harry didn't even listen to the service, he simply looked at his wife as much as possible, as this was the last time he would see her in real life.  
He ingrained every single detail in his brain. The exact placement of her black spots, how thick and rich her snow white fur was despite two days passing since her death, not even the fiery explosion being able to affect her beauty.

Slowly, after his police friends had paid their respects and encouraged Harry, they left the freezing cemetery.  
Then, it was her relatives, still in tears, leaving their in-law, Harry, telling him that he was still part of the family.  
Finally, it was only Harry Clawhan, staring at his wife's stone cross that was already covered in a thick layer of snow despite only being erected for a few hours. Slowly, he touched the freezing stone and grasped it like it was his mate's warm paw.

"Goodbye, Spots…" he whispered, the tears finally making their way past his stone mask, now that everyone was gone…

* * *

Harry still expected to wake up from a bad dream. It had been a couple of days since the car bomb, and yet her smell was still strong in the house, especially in the bed.  
For once in his life, he cursed his strong sense of smell. Her smell was already fading, he noted with horror as he got up from the empty bed in the morning.  
He took the sheet and sniffed it. Still her.  
While he wasn't canine, he still perceived everyone differently, and his wife's scent still brought him joy and comfort, even though he knew that he would never see her again. Slowly, he went downstairs.  
He thought of fixing himself breakfast, but he wasn't hungry.

He had a week off for "mourning". It was freezing cold, as he hadn't had the time or the energy to replace the shattered windows and therefore just nailed them shut with some planks, making his home from the outside seem abandoned. He opened one of the cabinets and retrieved a whisky bottle.  
Upon doing this, a box fell from the top. Frowning in confusion, he picked it up. It was a box of his favourite cigars.

 _"I hid your cigars." She said jokingly._

" _How dare you!" he said in mock indignation._

 _"Honey, I'll let you know that those things help me concentrate better." He said. His angelic leopard smirked._

" _In that case, you should smoke better cigars, cloud-head!" she laughed out._

"Touché, Spots!" _he chuckled._

 _After one last passionate kiss, Isabella left..._

He picked up the box, tears forming in his eyes once again. This smelled like her as well, even though it was weaker…

He opened it and alongside the few mint-flavoured cigars that were left, was a note.

 _"You'll get these back when you're a good boy, detective."_ In Isabella's handwriting followed by an overly sappy kissy-face.  
He took the note and studied it like it was some sort of ancient tome. He didn't know why, but he stared at the piece of paper for at least half an hour.  
Eventually, he carefully folded it into his pocket.  
He sat on the couch, which still had her scent strongly in it. Just a few more days, and even this last bit that remained of his beloved spotted cat would be gone…  
Slowly, but surely, he started pouring whisky down his throat and smoking cigar after cigar, not even him sure to what end.

What would he do next? Well, it didn't take a genius to realize that a few hours later he would wake up, probably crashed next to the toilet with a killer hangover.  
But maybe this is what he wanted? To be transported to another world, just for a few hours, a world in which perhaps he could see Isabelle, even if it was just a figment of his drunken imagination… With that thought, he put the bottle to his lips and pointed it to the roof.

* * *

Later, he woke up beside the couch, empty bottle still dangling from his paw. He had thought many times to just get on the couch as it would have been more comfortable, but he realized it would actually involve getting up, so he just got drunk on the floor. The image of his wife danced cruelly in front of his eyes. He swiped a paw as if to catch her, but even in his drunken stupor he knew that it was all a vision.

"Isabelle?" he slurred, trying to get up, tripping over the many empty whiskey bottles.  
God, his chest… He had never felt such heartburn in his life and his head felt like it was about to explode. He threw up on the floor, his stomach finally tired of slowly killing itself with booze of differing qualities.  
He tried to lessen the haze by focusing his eyes on one thing in the room.  
But how do you focus when all you can see is your wife? He tried focusing his eyes on the stove.  
The very stove at which he and his wife cooked together, his wife teasing him at his horrible cutting skills at which he'd retort that he's good at grilling, then they'd kiss and talk about how much better everything will be when they will have children and cook breakfast for them, packed lunches for school…

He let go of a sob, trying to approach the kitchen counter. The ghost of his wife was gone, a small smile and a compassionate blue gaze being all he could catch.

"Spots?" he slurred again, as if he expected an answer.

Actually he did, in his drunken haze he went from knowing that his wife was dead to thinking that she was just out for shopping in the next. He thought for a second how angry she would be when she returned and found him drunk on the floor. He chuckled as he thought of the many clunky ways he'd try to hide the fact that he's drunk from his wife. She always noticed everything, it would be useless…  
The chuckling turned into sobbing as he once again remembered. Isabelle was gone… His literal white to his black was gone…

But… why? His half-melted brain searched why this had happened. Then he pinned it.

That fucking hyena… The other brother sought revenge…

After arresting that gang-banging hyena, he received a threat in the form of a piece of paper stuck to his car. It read "RELEASE HIM" and next to it was a poorly scribbled panther skull hung from a rope with his eyes covered by big bold "X" signs. He merely laughed and trashed it, he had received countless threats in his career. He had received threats from powerful crime syndicates, people who could have actually done something to him, but he had learned to have a sort of immunity to threats.  
He knew how to defend himself and the one time someone tried to gun him down in the street found out the hard way just how quick the panther's draw was with his Magnum.

And now, a small-time street gang took away what was most precious to him… why couldn't it have been him in the car? Why did he have to wake up with that headache and his wife to have the good soul she had and offer to go shopping? His sobbing then turned into primal roars of rage.  
It was as if some primal switch to turn him savage, forgotten for thousands of years had finally been turned on. He kicked down the plywood that was covering his window, the merciless cold instantly biting into his fur used to heat and humidity, but he didn't care. T

hat street gang… "The Spottington Bros Royals" were worse than any crime syndicate…  
He couldn't just sit here and drown in his own misery… his wife hadn't hurt a soul in her life and died just because that bastard's brother, a murderer, who was also suspected for dozens of other homicides and robberies, got what was coming to him…  
He needed to punish them…  
Not through some bureaucratic red tape bullshit, but cold hard justice… and make sure that what happened to him would never happen to anyone else ever again…

* * *

"What the hell do you mean, not enough evidence!? My wife was fucking murdered!" he yelled, slamming his fist down Bogo's desk. The buffalo tried maintaining a compassionate gaze, but it was obvious that he was losing his patience.

"Detective-Inspector Clawhan… you say you saw a hyena fleeing the scene. That is not "evidence". Give me a few more weeks and we'll crack down on these guys. Understand that this cannot be turned into a vendetta and that-" Bogo tried to finish.

"I don't understand shit!" Harry yelled again, the stoic detective, the stone face of the ZPD losing his cool completely. Bogo stood up from his seat. While Harry was incredibly tall for a panther, being even taller than some of the tigers within the precinct, the top of his head barely came up to Bogo's chin, not to mention that Bogo was three times broader in the shoulders.

"You think I don't feel for you? You think I don't care about what happened to your wife?" he asked through gritted teeth, glaring at the smaller feline. Harry was famous throughout the precinct for his blue-green gaze that could freeze the blood of even the toughest of criminals, and Bogo had to admit that he was good… but not good enough…

"This is the police, detective Clawhan, and you've clearly forgotten who you're talking to!" said Bogo, bending forward, trying to intimidate the panther. Harry didn't even blink. He then, to Bogo's surprise, smiled widely.

"This is the police, Chief? You have to always be by the book you say?" he asked, still smiling the same cruel smile.

"What about Mr. Big?" asked Harry Clawhan. For the first time ever, Bogo lost a staring contest and nearly gasped.

"Detective you know that Mr. Big is-" he tried to explain, looking away from the panther's gaze.

"I know that Mr. Big is the biggest scumbag in this city. I know that he literally freezes people to death, I know that he holds half the rackets in this city and that I can hardly pass a restaurant that isn't a money-laundering front for his godless business." He snarled.

"You exaggerate!" said Bogo. "If I were to take him down, put all the weight of the ZPD on him, what would happen? All the other gangs in the city, who are ten times worse, would start a war to take everything that he left behind! He is like any other mammal with power, only that he is someone who can keep everyone else in check. Mr. Big is no worse than anyone else who has power, only that he is not hypocritical enough to not admit it! Now replace someone like him with the gang who killed your wife. What would happen? Zootopia would be in chaos!" explained Bogo.

"You can call it whatever you want, Chief, I call it being a dirty cop. And I call it covering for the mob. Which I never questioned. I'm smart enough to know that being a cop is more complicated than a black and white vision on good and evil.  
But I question: if you can cover for the mob, you can't cover for your own detectives?" he asked. Bogo tried to answer, but was cut off.

"Remember that time you asked me to drop the case of a wolf found frozen to death in the river? He was literally a block of ice. I never questioned it, hell, even Clawhauser figured out who froze him, but I took pictures and copied the case files…" he said, enjoying the buffalo's flabbergasted expression.

"You know, you're the most popular police chief in Zootopia's history. When you retire, that's all you'll have left, be the hero. I once saw an article which described you quite clearly " _He catches the bad guys"_ and it sounds cliché as all hell, but trust me, in this city that is high praise." He said.

"So how about a regular detective steps up and shows the truth? ' _Hey, remember that police chief that caught all the bad guys? Turns out he was a Mafia bitch.'_ They don't care what circumstances you were under, or what would follow if Mr. Big fell, all they care is getting their scoop. And I have some very different opinions about you now, you Mafia tool!" snarled Harry.

Bogo was breathing heavily the entire time and steam was coming out of his nostrils. He screamed in rage and swung a brick-sized hoof at the panther's face. Harry rolled away in the last second, getting into a fighting stance. The buffalo thought for a moment to charge the panther, but he could win this battle much easier than fisticuffs with ZPDs top martial artist…

"You're fired! Turn in your-" he began ordering.

"Shut the fuck up!" yelled Harry in disgust, throwing his badge on the floor and spitting on it. He stormed out without another word.  
As he exited, many of the cops offered him compassionate gazes, wordlessly offering the doomed panther help with anything they could, but he didn't even glance at his comrades. He now knew what he had to do… Justice… He still tried lying to himself that this wasn't just for him, but this was also to prevent this from happening to anyone else.

Yes… just justice…

"Buddy?" came a voice behind him, sounding so resigned and sorrowful compared to how joyful it usually was that even with all his deductive capabilities it took him a full two seconds to recognize it. Clawhauser was glancing at him with what the chubby cheetah was trying to be a compassionate gaze to man him up, but it was clear that he was fighting tears himself over losing his best friend's wife.

"How did it go?" asked Ben, clearly having heard the shouts. "

As well as it could be expected…" mumbled Harry, looking at his feet, in the meantime, running the plan of the gang hideout, where each member was most likely to be, what defences they will have, what his approach would be…  
From the few police reports he had read on them, he knew that their hideout was a long-abandoned mansion, they had kicked out the hobos that squatted there years before and this position let them establish some degree of dominance over the god-forsaken ghetto neighbourhood they "owned". However, they were disorganized as all hell and most likely barely had any kind of look-outs or plan should their "base" get invaded.  
All of them used Uzis, large cheap pistols or sawn-off shotguns and occasionally coated in chrome, gold plating or cheap plastic jewellery, depending on each gang member's budget.  
While these weapons looked intimidating at first glance, they didn't know even basic weapon maintenance and from the many shootouts he took part in against ghetto gangs, he knew that their weapons jammed like crazy.

During midnight they were all in there, sleeping on old mattresses like the filthy hobos they were, most of them drugged out of their filthy minds. That, with his night vision, an advantage they didn't have, would be the perfect time to strike…

"You're still selling your old car, Ben? Mine's obviously not usable anymore." He said to his friend wearing a blank gaze.

"Sure… why do you need it now?" asked the cheetah, noticing there was something in his friend's eyes other than the sorrow of the last few days, devoid of the spark Isabelle gave them, even the green in his eyes looking like that of a dying plant.

"Just need to run some errands." He said blankly, imagining what it will be like to get justice... He had stretched one of his paws and unsheathed his claws in anger, just waiting to dig them into the flesh of those killers… Benjamin's small eyes widened and he went to his desk drawer and withdrew an old set of keys.

"Here you are. Car's parked in front of my place, right next to the new one I bought." Said Clawhauser, avoiding eye contact. Clawhan snatched the keys and stuffed them in his trenchcoat, turning around without another word.

"Harry?" asked Clawhauser just before the panther left. The panther wanted to leave, but something told him to glance back at his friend. Clawhauser wore a worried expression that one had when their friend was sent to the death sentence.

"Be careful." He said. Harry wasn't surprised. Benjamin Clawhauser was far from the sharpest tool in the shed, but the bond they had formed over the years of their partnership meant there was no hiding behind words with each other, no matter how hard they tried.

"I will." He said simply, ruffling his coat, walking out of the ZPD building for what he thought was the final time…

* * *

Harry stood in Clawhauser's old hunk-of-junk sedan in the middle of the run-down neighbourhood. All the scum of society could be found here. It was like Zootopia's cesspool.

Not a wall in sight didn't have peeled paint or poorly drawn gang slogans in graffiti. This part of town had been left to die out and rot by City Hall, letting most gang violence run rampant in here, sacrificing a small district rather than letting it spread into the city, like some sort of twisted quarantine.  
However, Harry saw many old buildings that attested the fact that this part of town wasn't always this bad. An old warehouse with trucks that had long been stripped for parts, several medium sized houses, now all abandoned and filled with junkies looking for their next fix. The streets were wide, allowing for a large flow of traffic, however no one in their right mind entered this neighbourhood anymore.  
However, the panther wasn't in his right mind…  
He glanced at the large structure that stood in the middle of the neighbourhood. An old mansion, acting as a tombstone to this district's former glory. The once immaculate gardens were now overgrown, the weeds even covering the large fountain that once throned the outside of the garden.

Burning barrels of wood and cardboard lit the night, several young hyena gang members occasionally coming to warm themselves, Uzis in their belts. Several used syringes were scattered around the front entrance, those that got out stepping on them without even looking back, they were that stoned.  
Harry felt all the hatred accumulated into his soul for days coming together at this very moment. He would need it… Those bastards… scum of society! Lice! Everything that was wrong about this city in one abandoned mansion of decadence…  
He took his wife's ring out of his pocket, glancing at it one more time. He sniffed it, eager to feel that his wife was beside him during his quest to purge.  
He could hardly feel a whiff of her anymore.

He closed his eyes and struggled to remember her warm fur pressed against his own, her gentle smile and icy blue eyes… She was still by his side… No matter what would happen, he would never be alone… He brushed away at his eyes as he held the ring close to his chest.

"Be with me, Spots…" he prayed. He glanced back at the mansion.  
Through the broken windows he could see several hyenas and a couple of wolves (while the gang was predominantly hyena, others were also "welcome") lying on stained mattresses, tongues lolled out, eyes rolled up into the skull, improvised tourniquets around their arms: drugged out of their minds.

Good, this would be easy…

Harry fixed the Kevlar that was underneath his trenchcoat and waistcoat and he checked his 44 Magnum once again.  
All six shots loaded, twenty-four spare rounds on quickloaders.  
He always favoured the Magnum for its stopping power, and with his experience, he was every bit as fast with it as an average cop with a standard-issue semi-automatic. Stopping power was the most important thing when you had animals like tigers and elephants turning to crime…  
He continued to lie to himself that this was just justice, what he needed to do, to stop this from happening to anyone else, this wasn't just his own selfish revenge plan… He revved the acceleration several times as he aimed the car for the front gate...

A young hyena stood by a burning barrel in the derelict mansion, warming his paws from the cold. While having a mansion be a base of operations was something that gave him some real rep in the underworld, the lack of heating really upset his dessert preferences (that's where his ancestors lived, right? He couldn't remember)  
The walls had lost all of the expensive paint it once had, instead being a hole-riddled white-grey mess, green mold and constant dripping. Bullet holes were everywhere from the gang's "target practice".  
Yet the Spottington Bros gang was still called "The Royals" in the underworld, all thanks to their hideout.  
The hardwood floor was now riddled with plants growing from beneath the floorboards, the humid stench combined with the smell of drugs from within the building was something that most animals would have gagged at, but these degenerates welcomed it as a smell of home…  
A portrait of a family of wolves in expensive suits stood on a wall, humidity still not having completely taken away the colours of the family of three that never would have guessed what their home would turn into.

They seemed to be staring angrily at the intruders, begging for redemption…

He tried focusing his eyes on the barrel in an effort to counteract the effects of the shot of heroin he had taken earlier. One of his fellow gang members was standing in front of the door, holding his rusted Uzi close to his fake-gold chain covered chest, almost like a guard.  
Yeah as if any rival gang would ever be dumb enough to attack them-  
His thoughts were interrupted by the sounds of an old engine revving.

Huh, usually engines from the midnight street races around here sounded more powerful, what the-

The massive wooden front doors, weakened by years of mold and humidity broke into thousands of pieces as a large rusty car smashed into them, smearing the gang member standing at the door into mush. His mind jolted into action and he yanked the gun from his belt, nearly dropping it in his drug-infused stupor.  
He started firing into car, shattering the windows, not really taking care what he was aiming at, instead he just hoped that the Uzi's auto fire would be enough to compensate his lack of skill.

"Alarm, brothers! Come quickly!" he yelled as loudly as his stunned lungs would allow. Several hyenas clad in leather jackets or tank tops and ripped jeans came from upstairs, guns at the ready, several stumbling due to being drunk or stoned or both.  
They all started firing in the car. There was no way anyone in the car survived.

They slowly approached the car, guns still at the ready. The front seat was empty, and so was the rest of the car… There was a brick laying right on top the accelerator… Before they had time to process what that meant, a ticking noise from beneath the car became more and more insistent...

"Oh shit!" yelled one of the few that wasn't soned, diving away from the car just as it exploded.  
A tremendous wave of heat and debris hit him as he was keeping his head glued to the floor, his paws around his scruff.  
The dreadful sound of twisted metal and the screams of his few "homies" that weren't dead but horribly injured pierced his skull to the point in which he couldn't hear anything.

Wait a minute… an exploding car… wasn't that how their boss had killed that cop?

Before he could process another thought, he felt a heavy, merciless paw lifting him off the ground. His face was slammed against the moldy wall, covering the wall in cracks and his own blood. His head felt like it was squished inbetween the wall and the heavy paw.  
He screamed in pain and tried swiping his claw blindly, but it was caught quickly and an immense force twisted and yanked it so suddenly that it was snapped instantly.  
He yelled and brought his broken right paw to his face. His palm was nothing more than a useless, painful sack of meat and broken bone. He looked up at his attacker. He gasped when he realized how much bigger the panther was than him.  
He was nearly twice his height. But his eyes… his small green-blue eyes frightened him more than when the car had gotten into the house, more than when he realized he was about to be blown to bits…

Not even in the eyes of the toughest killers of the gang had he seen this much pure hatred. His bared pearly white fangs shined in the dim light, every single one of them capable of tearing flesh.  
He was snarling and breathing like he had only seen in the few documentaries about ancient savage predators. Only that this snarl was directed toward him…  
The powerful paw grabbed him by the neck and held him in midair.  
The poor kid flailed uselessly in the air, trying to swipe the panther's face with his good paw. He had never felt so deprived of air, so small compared to someone, so helpless.

He was thinking about everything that had let up to this moment, how he enrolled in the gang to raise money for his girlfriend and their unborn child, a result of too much alcohol and too much stupidity at the high school graduation party and too much love for each other, their foolish relationship having gotten them disowned by each of their families.  
They had to live in poverty in the ghetto, but they did manage to barely scrape by, him keeping his "profession" a secret from his girlfriend. Just one week later he would be a father…

That was what was keeping him going while he was doing the gang's dirty work, extorting poor business owners, shooting at rival gangs for just being there… The way he imagined his son, the spitting image of him and his girlfriend was what kept his good soul going in a situation like this…

"Please… I… just want to see how my son looks like…" he tried to say, but the merciless paw held his throat so tightly that it only came out as a pathetic whimper, wasting more of his precious air.

"Come on, homies, let's get the fuckers who attacked us!" he heard from the other side of the mansion

. Yes! Hope! He never did care much about his "homies" since he despised that he had to live in the gang to survive, but he had never felt more grateful in his life to hear their raspy, drug-ruined voices. The panther didn't even blink as he heard them.  
Instead, he saw that the claws on his free arm were becoming unsheathed.

Oh God, no…

"Don't worry, you'll see all your other gang-banging friends soon enough." Snarled the panther just as his claw went straight into the young hyena's throat…

Harry glanced down on the gang member and then on the blood on his paw. He had never killed anyone like this before… But hell, he was killing the gang that took away his Isabelle.  
Shouldn't he be feeling… good? Satisfied? Happy? Glancing back at the other gang members smeared and dismembered by his poetic justice didn't change things much. He had come here to make peace with himself, yet he just felt… empty.  
He didn't have time to ponder on this though, as the entire "Royals" Spottington gang was coming after him. He climbed the stairs and hid behind a decaying pillar. The double doors from the bottom burst open and just a second later, so did several doors from above.  
Harry drew his large revolver, ready to do what he had done a thousand times before.

"Holy shit… look at this… just like that cop we killed…" said one of them, looking at the carnage caused by the exploded car.

"Hey, look! Eddie's still alive!" said one of them, approaching the hyena with the slit throat who was still choking on his own blood and gurgling.

"Nothing we can do for him. Damn… what kind of sick fuck would kill him like this? A bullet would have been enough!" yelled another.

Harry couldn't believe what nerve these bastards had! _He_ was the sick one? He never killed without reason! He wasn't some thug with a false code of honour!  
He came out of cover and quickly gunned down the three that were still upstairs and gawking at the massacre below.

By running his paw over the hammer after each shot, he was able to quickfire with the revolver, killing the last one before the first one even hit the ground.  
The ones from below scrambled for cover and one of them started barking orders.  
There were about six of them in total. He had three shots left.

He quickly fired his remaining three shots: one in the skull of one who was too dumb to take cover behind something solid, the other two into vases to scare the remaining ones into remaining into cover.

"Holy fuck! It's that dead cop!" yelled one of them. In the meantime, Harry quickly reloaded his revolver using one of the quickloaders, the process being no slower than if he had used a clip-based weapon.

"Let's put this fucker back in the grave! He took out Johnny K!" one of them yelled as a volley of bullets flew past him, some hitting the moldy pillar he was taking cover behind. He knew that while the one hyena was pinning him down like this, the others would try to flank him. He needed to-

He groaned as he felt a sharp pain explode in his stomach as a bullet hit his Kevlar. He instinctively fired back in the direction of the shot, the high-caliber bullet creating a finger-sized hole in the wolf thug's chest.

"Five-O's got good aim!" one exclaimed as he watched one of the few wolves of the gang falling down the stairs after trying to flank the panther.

"Circle around him!" the "lieutenant" ordered.

"I _can_ hear you, you know, dumbfucks!" yelled out Harry defiantly. With surprising grace, one wolf and two hyenas flanked around him. One hyena met the quick end of a bullet to the stomach as he tried to dive behind an overturned desk.  
The other hyena tried to stretch his paw out after his friend, but was pulled back by the strong wolf. Still, the fraction of a second he had his paw out was enough for Clawhan to shoot it off. A deafening roar of pain pierced the room as the bullet that was as larger than a finger for the hyena ripped apart his entire paw. He tried to hunker down, but the Magnum's immense power easily pierced the wooden desk, putting the hyena out of his misery quickly.

"Goddammit! If you want something done right, do it yourself!" he heard as he gunned down the other hyena. Before he could turn around to the source of the noise, white hot pain erupted from his left bicep. He screamed as he felt his flesh getting ripped by the automatic hail and cursed his stupidity at not wearing extra protective armour for the sake of mobility.  
He dived behind a corner as another bullet struck his back, the Kevlar taking the brunt of the blow, but he still had all his wind knocked out of him. He heard another hail of bullets coming his way and then it stopped suddenly.

"Shit!" the hyena lieutenant exclaimed as Clawhan heard a telltale click. Harry smiled and slowly exited his cover. The lieutenant, large for a hyena, gasped as he saw the towering panther standing over him, while he only had a jammed Uzi in his paws.

"You know, you assholes would have done a lot better against if you'd have just shut your muzzles." He rasped calmly just before shooting the hyena right inbetween the eyes. Harry glanced around.  
He had just killed practically every single able man in the gang, the rest were most likely too stoned to move. He still couldn't feel satisfied.  
He felt… empty. He glanced below at the hyenas who had tried to flank him. Wait… wasn't there also a wolf?

Pain exploding in his ribs brought him to reality as he fell down from the blow. The wolf, wearing an all-black expensive suit rather than the thug garments the rest were dressed in, was incredibly tall for a wolf, the top of his head nearly reaching the panther's nose and his heavy build was definetely owed to strenuous physical exercise.  
His completely white fur clashed with his dark suit. His small dark eyes showed little emotion as he twirled the fire extinguisher with which he had struck the panther.

Clawhan deduced what he could as he saw him. Not a member of the gang, most likely a hitman of sorts, but still loyal to the Royals Spottington.  
The way his knuckles were swollen and the shape of his fingers indicated someone practiced in martial arts. The shape of his claws and the fact that he took care of them didn't hide the fact that they were chipped in some places: this wolf killed with his own claws often.  
The callus on his fingerpad indicated a marksman.  
This mammal was a true killer, more so than any of those thugs, he'd have to be careful. The wolf rushed to the now downed detective, looking to brain him with the fire extinguisher. Harry caught the object, headbutted the wolf and kneed him in the chest, knocking him backwards and the fire extinguisher out of his paws.  
Harry threw the weapon away and charged at the wolf who was now getting up. To his surprise, the arctic wolf got out of the way and swept his legs in the last moment, knocking him down.  
He heard his claws quickly retracting and he dodged at the last moment, the wolf's claws sinking into his shoulder rather than his throat. He hissed in pain and punched the wolf in the liver and quickly got up.  
His entire body was hurting from all he had done before, his stomach and back were heavily bruised from the shots to the Kevlar, his left arm was shot, severely impending his movement and the blow from the wolf had nearly broken his ribs.  
The wolf merely hissed in pain and got up, in spite of the powerful blow. This guy was used to pain, he was a true hitman, a veteran of the underworld.

Harry used his reach advantage to quickly throw a combination of jabs to the wolf's snout, ending with a powerful haymaker. To his surprise, the wolf dodged the final blow, grabbed Harry's arm and tried throwing him to the lower floor with surprising ease, as Harry was nearly twice his weight.  
Harry grabbed the wolf's own paw and twisted it with his own technique, getting him back on the ground, the momentum making the both of them crash through the rotten wood railing and crashing on the ground floor.

Harry angled his body so that he could roll, but the fall still knocked the wind out of him. The wolf rolled as well with the grace of an acrobat.  
Harry kicked him in the stomach and then in the muzzle, sending him backwards. Hitman or not, he stood no chance against one of ZPD's top CQC fighters.  
Just a fraction of a second after falling, the wolf did a leg sweep, oblivious to the pain caused by the panther's powerful kicks. Harry fell down, the wolf pinning him before he could do anything.

The hitman started punching Harry with amazing speed while pinning him by keeping his knee in the feline's stomach, exactly where he had been shot. Harry's world was a blur of closed fists, blood and ringing ears. He had been hit by rhinos with less powerful punches, only that the wolf was ten times faster.

His instinct trumping his training, he stretched out his paw. In a feat of blind luck, this blocked one of the albino wolf's punches. Ignoring his pain completely, he headbutted the wolf, sending him backwards.  
Clawhan buried his pain and got up, propping his paw on a rotting royal piano. The wolf got up, hatred in his emotionless dark eyes.  
He put his hand in his suit and drew a large bowie knife, it's blade shining in the light of a dumpster fire. Harry cursed his stupidity at not bringing his own melee weapon.  
From the way he handled it, the wolf knew damn well how to use it quickly and effectively, if he didn't finish him quickly, the knife would be to much of an advantage.

However, Harry had a plan. It would sting, but it would work…

The wolf began to swing the blade wildly, yet coordinated. Harry jumped out of the way of all the blows, until he saw his opponent lining the knife up for a killing thrust.  
He just hoped his crazy plan would work… Harry stood as still as possible as the knife connected with his torso.  
He nearly screamed as he felt the tip pierce his Kevlar. The wolf was struggling to push it all the way in, but failing. It worked…

Harry punched the wolf in the eye and sent a hand-chop to his throat, stunning him. He then yanked the knife out of himself, only the very tip being what pierced him. He grabbed the wolf by the throat and threw him across the room into a wall, surprising the canine with his strength.

"My turn." Rasped Harry as he threw the knife into the wolf's chest. He finally screamed in pain, his barrier of stoicism pierced. The wolf looked up with glazed eyes at his killer.

"Where's Spottington?" asked Harry. The wolf laughed and coughed out some blood on Harry's shoes.

"You wanna take revenge on him, cop?" he asked rasping his words.

"You know… your wife is not dead because of him… I… handled this mission…" he said, coughing out blood.

"I gave the orders to that thug to wait for you, or your wife to enter the car until he blows it up. The wife preferably. That way, we still kill you… slowly…" he said, barking out laughter.

Harry's claws became unsheathed as he began to snarl like his ancestors when they saw a rival alpha male. Isabelle had never done anything to them, they practically killed for sport…

Letting go of a primal roar, he plunged his claw into the wolf's stomach. He would die anyway, but he could still make him suffer…

The wolf tried to scream, but it only came out as a choked ramble. Only then Harry realized how covered in blood he was, head to toe. His right paw in particular had blood and bits of flesh beneath the claws from the two mammals he had maimed.

"Who have I become?" he whispered before he thought of that. He blinked in confusion. Why had he said that? He was doing the right thing by ridding the world of these lice…

He retrieved his gun, reloaded and kicked open a double door that led further into the mansion. Splayed out over dirty, piss-filled matrasses were the remnants of the gang, who were too drugged out of their minds to even realize what was going on.  
One of them was going on about how reptiles took his notebooks to another who was just staring unblinkingly at a decaying wall like it was some sort of God.  
A few hyenas were screaming and running wildly from the hallucinations, others were just sitting on the ground, fast asleep, improvised tourniquets around their arms.

It was the very image of decadence. They didn't even try to run as Harry began gunning them all down.  
This was it. The entire Royals gang was finished.

Strangely, enough, the panther still didn't feel at peace. In fact… he didn't feel anything… Hadn't this been what he had planned for?  
What he was nearly smiling at while he was preparing for it? Maybe… maybe it was because the leader was still alive and somewhere… yes, preparing a trap…

There was a door past all the dead junkies marked "Office" with a poorly scribbled marker. Whatever this room was, it had been turned into a garage, poorly made chop-shop cars standing there and quite a few power tools hung up on a shelf and a garage door crudely plastered into the wall, the hardwood floor cracked underneath the weight of the cars.  
Something wasn't right… Harry slowly approached the door, gun tight in his paws.  
He was now more restless than he was fighting that wolf. Because he knew that what the leader was planning for a one-shot kill, somehow… But his only available course of action was going into the room.

Or…

Harry removed his trenchcoat and threw it into the room. A deafening boom which he identified as the discharge of a double barrel went off. Bingo, he bit the bait.  
Harry dived into the room, straight behind a half-made scrap metal car. The gang leader fired again, hitting the car, sending debris of it into Harry, the heavy pieces of metal knocking him aside.  
He could hear the mammal, clad in a slightly more expensive jacket than the rest and a heavy gold chain, opening the powerful 12-gauge to reload. Not wasting any time, Harry got out of cover and fired one shot below the car the hyena was taking cover behind, hitting his ankle.  
As he fell down and clutched his leg, Harry fired once again below, hitting his sides, the bullet going straight through him.

This was it… the gang was finished… Harry rushed to his opponent's cover and kicked the sawn-off out of the leader's hands. He then grabbed him and threw him into a wall full of tools.  
From the way he was bleeding, he wouldn't be alive much longer…

"Ugh… so you finally did it, huh, Inspector?" asked the leader, coughing blood on the broken hardwood floor. "Avenged your sweet wife… you know… they say who lives by the sword, dies by the sword…" said the leader as Harry was glaring at him.

"But you know what I like most about that saying, Inspector? Because the guy that… *cough* kills you… for living… by the sword… automatically… has to live by the sword himself… so he's doomed as well…" he rasped.

"You know… I always figured myself… as the guy who strikes down those that live by the sword… guess I am in a way… endless fucking cycle, cat… no way out…" he said, struggling to remain awake.

"We're not that different… I avenged my brother, and now you come… to avenge your old lady…" the leader said.

Harry's fury got the better of him once again and kicked the hyena in his stomach bullethole. The smaller mammal yelled in pain and clutched his wound.

"My wife never hurt anyone!" Clawhan snarled. "Your brother was a fucking lowlife gang-banging psychopath! My wife was nothing like him, just like I'm nothing like you!" snarled the panther, crouching next to the leader, staring straight in his eyes. His glare made the hyena's eyes widen, but only for a minute, as then, a morbid smile, accentuated by his sharp teeth, yellow from drug abuse.

"Wanna bet?" he asked, touching Harry's right paw. That paw was completely soaked in blood, bits of flesh beneath the claws, where he had literally ripped apart the young hyena at the entrance and the wolf hitman.

"You know… back when gunpowder was first discovered, nations that didn't have it called guns "coward weapons". It wasn't just because you could kill someone even though you were less skilled, but because killing face to face… takes a certain kind of cold-hearted shithead… all the little emotions, their cold eyes… their begging groans as they get ripped apart by your own paws…" the leader struggled to say. "I… I enjoy that fucked up shit. I'll take killing someone with a knife over killing with a gun anyday. Because I am one fucked sadistic piece of shit. Only that I am not hypocritical enough to not admit it…" he said.

Harry didn't want to listen to this bastard, he really didn't. But… he was right… He had no reason to kill those mammals like that… One bullet would have been enough…

"Tell me, panther, what was it like to kill them like the savage you were? How did it feel watching their blood and guts fly out of their stomachs as they screamed for the last time in their lives? How did it feel watching them staring at their own gore before they died the worst death possible? Say what you will about your blue-eyed sweetheart, but she died quickly and painlessly. Didn't even have time to realize she was gone…" He had mentioned his wife again… He took out her wedding ring from his pocket and tried to imagine her once again. Only that this time… she seemed to turn away from him. Her blue eyes avoided him, and they no longer shone, as if she was disappointed in him…  
No! It was just his fucked-up imagination after having to live through… this…

This hyena didn't deserve just a bullet… Harry glanced at the saws and drills on the wall…

"You're right. They died horribly. But some deserve more horrible deaths than others." He snarled, going to the wall, determined to end the hyena's life as painfully as possible… The leader laughed, which when a hyena did so, it sounded like loud cackling, even when he was dying.

"Oh, fucking really? Alright then, take your time! Look at all those nice, sharp, painful tools! It's like goddamned candy store!" he said, laughing hysterically, something Harry doubted he would continue doing after his limbs would be cut off one by one.  
The hyena continued laughing as the panther was looking over different power tools, pondering over which one would be the most agonizing end to the bastard hyena…

The hyena didn't stop laughing even as Harry settled on a large, rusty buzzsaw. Just as he was turning it on, however, an electronic beep began to ring in the next room.  
It was a mobile phone. The hyena no longer laughed, instead just grinned sadistically, looking in the direction of the beep. It was clearly coming from one of the gang members he had killed.

"I think it's for you!" said the hyena. It wasn't laughter, but rather a sadistic joy as if he was going to somehow torture Harry. Harry tried to ignore the beeping, it was most likely just that guy's crack dealer or his junkie girlfriend.

But… there was something that drew him to the sound. Clawhan went out the room to the sound. It was the hyena whom he had ripped his throat out with his own claws. Only now was Harry seeing just how young that canine was… barely eighteen… His paw was to his throat as he had futilely tried to stop the blood flow and his eyes were dilated in fear and agony.  
He had died, just like that, in that very image of someone facing death when he wasn't ready yet… Harry felt remorse claw at his heart. But still, he was a member of a drug-dealing, extorting street gang.

But he was so young…

Harry put his paw in the youngsters pocket and retrieved a small (well, small for him) phone. A small piece of paper fell together with the phone, but Harry didn't bother picking it up.  
It read "Marie calling". Harry felt like a robot with no control over his actions as he pressed the green answer button. On the other end, was the agonized strangled voice of a young female.

"Darling… I know you're… working… but you need to come quickly… the doctor…" the young woman cried out in pain.

"He… he was right… it would be an early delivery… your… your son is coming, sweetie…" The panther now noticed that the piece of paper that came out of the hyena's pocket was a picture.  
It was him and a female hyena of the same age, together. They were both wearing high school graduation robes… While it was an official yearbook picture, Harry was able to deduce from their proximity together and the way they were holding paws that they were lovers.  
With his power of deduction, it wasn't a difficult thing to figure out: classic story. Gets together with a high school girlfriend after finishing the last year, too much alcohol, stupidity and teenage hormones and the girl remains pregnant. Parents disown them both and are forced to scrape by. This was the only way this boy was able to provide for his girlfriend and his future son…

Harry only realized that he had started crying when he saw his own tears staining the picture. He felt a sudden urge to claw his own eyes out.

"Hello? Honey? Hurry up, please! Who… who is this?" asked the poor girl inbetween tears.

"Call an ambulance…" said Harry, dropping the phone on the ground, letting it shatter. He fell to his knees, feeling completely devoid of life…

No, he was nothing like the gang leader…. He was worse… He had killed a kid, ruined lives, families…

Most of these weren't hardened criminals, they were misfortunate youths forced into this… Harry heard laughter from the garage and the leader was laughing once again, in spite of his injuries.

"Huh? Who was it? Was it his mom? His girlfriend, asking why he's late? Did you finally fucking realize that the only thing that makes us different is that you have a badge? Whatever, saw my fucking limbs off and-" he was cut off by a high-caliber bullet to his head.

Harry simply stood, unblinking, staring at his own massacre until the police arrived… He would never forget the way his comrades looked at him… they didn't even tell him to get on the ground, drop his gun or explain his presence…  
They just stared at his blood-soaked form and at the mutilated bodies of the young gang members, a mixture of fear and disgust in their eyes. He responded by avoiding their gazes, staring at his own feet. Bogo stepped through the crowd of cops, towering over the panther.

"I'm sorry." The buffalo said.

"I made you do this…" he said, unsurely placing a hoof on the former detective's shoulders. He still didn't look up. The toughest cop from the ZPD, the legendary Detective-Inspector Harry Clawhan was cowering in shame in front of his comrades…

"I… believe you forgot this in my office earlier today…" he said, handing Harry his badge…

* * *

Harry jolted awake in his bed. He glanced around his now sparsely furnished bedroom with a single bed. The picture of him and his wife still stood on the end table. His small shack was located in the Rainforest District, among the many small houses up in the trees.  
His small straw hut, bought straight after the _incident_ consisted of a small bedroom, from which he could open both the door and window whilst sitting down, a kitchen with a mini-fridge filled mostly with cheap beer and insta-food, and the cabinets with strong liquor.  
The entire shack had walls, floors and ceilings made of strong straw and the roof was made of strong, thick leaves mixed with solid bits of plaster, something which most occupants of this neighbourhood and this type of house opted for. It was a simple, some would call Spartan way of life.

But the panther didn't care for luxury, as this neighbourhood and house suited him like a glove. The smell of humidity and various tropical plants, the way the sun lit the rainforest floor just enough for visibility due to being obstructed by giant palm trees and even those goddamned mosquitoes which made him spend twenty bucks a week on insect reppelants made him feel at home.

Yet not even his natural habitat could match the home provided by Tundra Town...

He knew for a fact that after he had this nightmare in which he was forced to relive the most dreadful thing he had ever done as well as losing his wife he wouldn't be able to get a wink of sleep afterwards.  
Not that it mattered, he was nocturnal anyway and he personally felt well-rested after just a few hours of sleep.  
Might as well get back on the case. Harry went into the kitchen, poured himself some whiskey into a glass, took the bottle with him and went into the small living room, which consisted of a straw couch with cushions on it, two straw armchairs on either side of it, and a medium sized TV sitting on top of a tropical wooden cabinet, and a desk, isolated from the rest of the room.  
Harry sat down at the desk and retrieved an ashtray, a pack of cigars and a metal lighter from a drawer. After his first drag, he opened the cabinet that was on the wall.  
Inside it was something he liked to call the "deduction board".  
A series of pictures, notes and map pieces all tied together with red string. Recently, he had tied the Growl Street wolf gang with the mystery zebra assailant. The zebra hated predators, so his business with the gang was most likely kept minimal, just to ensure that there won't be any gang members around when he'd pull that off to Nick and Judy.

Still, he most likely paid them kingly and gangs like that are usually suspicious, so they probably sent scouts after them, so they most likely knew at least enough to put him on the right trail. But how to get into the gang? It was a bit more than just a street gang, as the leader, Carl "Carnivore" ran an almost cult-like regime on his subordinates, preaching about how predators are superior to prey, so his "followers" were quite fanatical.  
So far, he had one informant, a wolf called Zach "Alex" Wolfbane, a young timber wolf, dropped out of college to join the gang. Initially joined to raise money for his mother who suffered from cancer, gradually got sucked more and more into the gang's evil.  
Just like that hyena kid he killed, just joined the gang to care for someone he loved…

Clawhan chased away the memory with another downed whiskey glass and by lighting another cigar. He had never truly forgiven himself, so he just tried not to think about it. But Zach was just a simple enforcer, just hired muscle, no real rank.  
There was only so much he could provide alone. And it wasn't like he could come down there himself, he'd stick out like a sore thumb in that neighbourhood. All the other cops couldn't get involved, as it was a particularly busy month at the ZPD.  
But maybe… two cops, off on sick leave officially, but going there off the record to investigate deeper? Maybe two cops who happened to be his best friends and personally involved in the case? Harry jolted upwards and grabbed his smartphone, the only modern appliance he actually owned and began sending a message to the power couple…

Now the case would start to _really_ take off…

* * *

 ** _Alright, guys, after this I'm planning to write a oneshot for "Fox and Bunny Stew", so I'll probabl post a poll on what you'd like to see. (I'll update this story when I have the poll up on my profile)_**

Sorry if this was rushed, I am extremely busy, college is starting...


	9. HUGE POLL!

**_Hello, everyone!_**

 ** _First of all, thank you all for the amazing support. As of now, I have 166 favourites, 231 follows and just one review shy of 100 reviews. You guys are all amazing and a huge thank you to anyone who enjoys my story and gives feedback via favs, follows and, of course, reviews.  
Right now, however, the next thing I write won't be another chapter. You see, my oneshot collection, "Fox and Bunny Stew" has been dead for nearly four months, and it only has one oneshot._**

 ** _I currently have a crap ton of amazing ideas, but that cannot be put in my story. Therefore, I will be writing a oneshot very soon to vent these ideas and to better focus on Savagery (I kinda needed a break from the same story, too).  
My favourite ideas have been put on my profile in the form of a poll, so go there and vote your favourite idea!  
And don't worry, Savagery will continue, soon._**

 ** _IMPORTANT: Please do not review this "chapter". Anything you have to say to me express it via PM._**


	10. Chapter 8- Zacharias

**_Hello everyone! Yes, I am back! After so much time! I have put quite a few chapters into "Fox and Bunny Stew" and college has kept me busy until now. But don't worry, this story is alive and well and this chapter introduces a character that I will be very proud of. I wanted to expand this chapter, but since it's already 8k+ and since I couldn't bear to keep y'all waiting, I decided to post it._**

 ** _More coming soon! (I mean it this time! Hopefully...)_**

* * *

"Can you see him?" asked Judy, taking another sip of her caroffee. Nick briefly removed his sunglasses and looked around the road from his seat in the small café. There weren't that many mammals strolling around this part of town this early in the morning.

"Nope," he said simply, taking another sip of his large cup of black coffee.

Judy sighed. Harry Clawhan had told them in his text to come to this place. They had come ten minutes earlier than the agreed - eight o'clock - and had been waiting for twenty minutes.

Nick's blueberry pie had been long since devoured and so was Judy's muffin, and their coffees were now lukewarm.

They had hardly caught a wink of sleep the night before after they had received news of Harry uncovering another lead. Whatever that damn zebra was planning, it wasn't small-time. Nick couldn't imagine that his plan to have Judy killed by him was the last he'd see of that bastard.

Killed… maimed… eaten…

Nick's paw twitched as his anxiety and cursed memories threatened to come to the surface again and he barely caught the large paper cup before it spilled all over his lap.

"Nick? Is everything alright?" asked Judy in a concerned tone, stretching her paw out for Nick's slightly shaking one.

Her benevolent gaze was all that he needed to chase the memories of her terrified and betrayed face away from his head.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Just almost spilled my coffee. It's no Snarlbucks, but it's still good, wouldn't you say?" he said, trying to change the subject.

"Nick, I know it was another anxiety attack! The way your eyes widened just before your paw twitched, the way you were shaking… please don't hide this from me, Nick!" she said, holding more of Nick's paw. The warmth of her small paw seemed to spread throughout his entire body.

"Trust me, it's nothing. It's fading. You're here. And like I said, I will never let anyone ever hurt you again." He said, locking eyes with her.

A tiny tear spilled from Judy's eye as she set her chair slightly higher. The mammal who had been able to break through the Night Howler's control, for her…

The gap was closed quicker than either of the two lovers had anticipated. Judy took hold of Nick's canine muzzle and stroked it as he did the same with her ears. All the other customers who either turned their heads away or made a slight exclamation of disgust amongst each other were swiftly ignored. She knew that they both needed this brief moment of feeling each other in order to calm both of their nerves, Nick's especially.

"Better?" asked Judy, a sly smile on her face as she winked.

Nick snorted as Judy finally saw the first Nick-ish smile of the day.

"You know me, Carrots! I can _only_ get better! It's in my foxy nature!" he said, brushing her legs with his tail beneath the table.

"Would have been nice if he had told me you two were in a relationship…" they heard a voice very close to their table.

They both turned to the owner of the voice: a young dark-furred wolf with icy blue eyes. He was wearing a thuggish and quite ragged leather jacket and equally ragged faded blue jeans.

Despite the fact that his fur was greasy, quite dishevelled, and dull in some places, it was clear that it was once rich and as dark as coal. His blue eyes held a certain kindness not expected from someone of his appearance.

It was Zack "Alex" Alexander, the wolf thug that had attacked Judy in the liquor store robbery a month ago - the same day Nick was forced to go savage.

Nick's eyes instantly narrowed at the criminal that had attempted to rip his lover's throat out while stoned.

He kept the memory as locked away as he could, lest he once again descended into the pit of anxiety as he remembered Judy in peril.

"What the hell are you doing here?" asked Nick bluntly before Judy had the chance to do so herself.

"Harry Clawhan sent me," he said, taking a chair from one of the empty tables and placing it at Nick and Judy's table, much to the fox's dismay.

"Is this some kind of joke? The same thug that tried to _kill_ my partner!?" snarled the fox, fumbling in his pockets for his taser.

"Nick, calm down! If Clawhan sent him, then he must be able to help us find the Zebra!" reasoned Judy to her barely recognizable fox.

Without another word, Nick ripped his phone out of his pocket and quickly picked a contact from his address book.

"Harry? What the hell is this!? Why did you send this… this crackhead!?" asked Nick, drawing a few curious looks from the other patrons.

" _Nick, calm down. I had my reasons. Please don't let the past get in the way of cooperating with Zack. Like I said back then, he's a good kid at heart who wants to make a difference,"_ reasoned the panther cop.

"Wants to make a difference!? By selling crack to kids and attempting to rip cops' throats out at liquor store stick ups!?" Nick almost yelled.

" _He was forced into it! Please, he wants to give intel on his gang. We know that the Growl Street Gang was paid off by the Zebra to stay out of their warehouse while you and Hopps were called there. Zack's boss, Carl "Carnivore" Johnson, is a pretty neat bastard for a street punk. Keeps records of everything he does. This must be no exception. Especially since he_ _hates_ _prey. That zebra must have really paid him a small fortune. That gang knows me, and I can't do this myself, so you two will have to work with Zack to uncover what happened and hopefully what that bastard Zebra is up to now._

 _I know you don't like him, Wilde, but think of it this way: Zack is putting his life on the line. If they find out he's a snitch, they'll gut him while he's still alive and throw the rest of him in a car crusher._

 _Now get to it, Officer!"_ the detective exclaimed before the fox could say another word. Nick groaned and stuffed his phone back into his pocket.

He glared at the young wolf who simply looked downwards at his own paws. Judy was staring daggers at the overly salty Nick, but he ignored her.

"Listen, _Zack_. I don't know what your plan is, and I don't know why the hell you've suddenly decided to help us, but know this: If I ever get the slightest sense that you're willing to hurt her again, in any way, shape, or form, the only gang-banging bastard that's gonna end up dead from this is you. Understood?" snarled Nick. Judy nearly gasped in shock at Nick's threat. She was not used to see him like this.

However, Zack Alexander had next to no reaction, save for a barely noticeable nod.

"I knew there was something more than this. My boss, Carl "Carnivore," would never have struck a deal with a prey mammal, no matter how rich. He's a maniac who believes that predators are superior to prey and that Zootopia, the first city in which predator and prey lived in harmony, was the biggest mistake our "glorious" pred ancestors ever made. He's practically running a cult," stated Zack.

Nick and Judy shared concerned glances. The fact that the small time crime boss was incredibly proud of his pred-only gang was no secret within the ZPD, but no Officer or Detective ever got the notion that he was smart enough to preach to his subordinates this kind of ideology. Heck, the simple fact that he had an ideology other than petty gang wars and smoking crack was surprising in the first place.

"Really, he acts like an average gang boss, but I figured from the way he preaches to me and the other members at our meetings about the superiority of predators and how we "prostituted" ourselves to prey that he has at least a bit of grey matter in his skull. I'm not saying he's right in that ridiculous ideology, but he sure as hell knows how to show his own version of the facts in a way that some more weak-minded individuals were swayed by him. There's a lot more to him than meets the eye, and I really have no idea how that zebra guy was able to even speak to Carnivore. He believes that prey should be food for us, there's no way that guy asked nicely for the warehouse to be empty," continued Zack.

Nick and Judy exchanged glances once again. The kid was already proving useful. Despite being mere muscle for the gang, he had already given more intel than any report on the wolf gang than the two cops had ever read.

"Carnivore holds his… _lectures_ every evening in the apartment building that he uses as our headquarters. He does this whenever most of the gang members are "off-duty" so to speak. I figured out from the way he speaks that he's pretty damn smart, at least when it comes to manipulation. Some of my partners sounded straight-up brainwashed after some of his lectures. Carnivore is best described as an average gang boss by day and a cult leader by night. He has something big planned. I figured out that much. He talks about some sort of… revolution," said the blue-eyed dark wolf to the two cops.

Before Nick or Judy could begin to question this shocking development, Zack's phone buzzed. He pulled out a scratched and battered smartphone from his torn-up jeans. He sighed as he glanced at whatever text was on the screen.

"Look, I need to go back. They're already suspicious about my loyalty. I joined the gang at first to raise money for my mother's cancer treatment, but then-" Zack suddenly stopped as he let his paws fall to his sides and his blue eyes adopted a long, nostalgic gaze.

"But then…?" asked Nick.

Zack took a long sigh as he took his paws to his eyes, breathing and exhaling in an effort to calm himself.

Nick swore that he saw the young wolf wiping a tear as he sniffled.

"She… she passed. After that, the only thing that Carnivore could do to keep me in the gang was fear and coercion," he said, looking away from the fox and the bunny.

Nick felt a twinge of regret at him asking the question. He had never seen a thug this distraught. No, not a thug, a poor kid, he corrected himself. His heart was enveloped in a sickly feeling of guilt on how he had treated Zack.

"I'm… sorry to hear that," the fox was able to breathe out.

"Thanks. I'm smarter than the average goon and can handle myself in a fight pretty well, not to mention that I know plenty about their operations, so he's pretty desperate not to lose me. I'll call you back, Officers. I can't keep him waiting," said Zack, getting up from the table.

Nick kept looking at the wolf, though he saw him differently now. He wasn't the same junkie gang trash that had attacked Judy. It was a poor youngster drawn into the wrong crowd by his determination to save his mother's life. It was someone he wanted to help and whom he now trusted…

"Hey, kid," called out Nick. Zack turned around, giving the fox a slightly confused look.

"Thanks. Take care," said Nick. Zack Alexander raised an eyebrow at the benevolent cop who had been threatening him just minutes before.

"You're welcome, Officer," he said lowly, turning tail without another word.

Zack began walking toward his boss's apartment building. He had practically set his legs on autopilot in order to be able to properly combat his dark thoughts that once again threatened to take over.

He barely registered the moment when he exited the nice-ish neighbourhood where the fox and bunny resided and entered the seedy neighbourhood of his gang. There was not a single building here that was newer than twenty years. Not a single pedestrian or car could be seen, as every single one of Zootopia's citizens avoided this part of town like the plague. He had been here thousands of times, and with that came a lack of emotion as he walked what was, pretty much, his workplace.

However, he still couldn't suppress the shame that coursed through him as he looked at the neighbourhood he associated with. There was nothing that he could do to get out… not until now...

In fact, the lack of emotion had found its way into his life as a whole. His days were nothing but a monotonous, lonely routine. The sole reason he had gotten into this draconic world was now gone… because of him…

Zack squeezed his eyes shut in an attempt to shut out the memories… Just keep on going… put one paw in front of the other… but to what end?

What else could he achieve? He had thrown his entire life down the toilet. He got into Carnivore's gang in order to raise money for his mother's cancer treatment. His father had died years ago and now he was all she had.

Despite her protests, he dropped out of college and began taking odd jobs to raise money, every single penny he had going toward her. But it wasn't enough.

Eventually, one of his former colleagues told him about an _opportunity_ , and that he, the college's kickboxing star, may have an edge in achieving it.

At first it was just collecting packages from one place and taking them to another, no questions asked.

Then it was placing a threatening note on a rabbit's storefront, demanding the buck to repay his debts.

Before he knew it, Zack was shaking down store owners and joining in gang fights, bare knuckle brawls, and even drug dealing. But by that time, he had seen that this was the only way he could pay for his mother's chemo and everything else that she needed in order to just lead a normal life or hope that she'd stay with him for another few years.

He kept putting on a fake smile for his mother every time he went to "work." Her smile, even after much of her snow-white fur had fallen out due to chemo, after she threw up almost everything she ate, after she had to chug down twelve pills a day, after her blue eyes had dimmed, after she looked like nothing but a shell of her former self - it was still his mother. And it drove him.

The one thing that kept him doing the unspeakable things that he was doing was a lie. A lie that he told himself. That once he saved up enough money, he'd get out of this world, but even he knew that it was impossible. His boss wouldn't let him just leave with no strings attached. He was being kept on a tight leash even so. But still, he had managed to push it to the back of his mind, just so that he could cope with everything. Everything would be fine as long as he had his mother's smile.

He knew that it was inevitable that she'd find out eventually. All the little white lies about the source of his cuts and bruises only being sparring accidents, the smells of crudely processed drugs on him being only an accident at his "job" as a clerk at a pharmacy, all the times he snatched his ringing phone from her curious paws when one of the gang members called him, and a dozen other instances of betraying her trust all added up. And he knew it.

It was one day, just like any other going to Carnivore's apartment building, which was completely derelict. There was hardly a square foot of the mouldy walls that wasn't covered in poorly graffitied gang slogans. Burning barrels were scattered throughout the condemned building, adding a caustic atmosphere to the already thin-aired building that smelled of poorly made drugs and sweat. Whenever he entered he had to take great care not to step on any of the needles left by his junkie fellow gang members. There was a near constant tone of windows clattering, as the gangsters' repair experience went as far as duct taping everything and repeating the process once it inevitably ripped itself open once again.

However, despite this, the headquarters were relatively well-organized. On the ground floor were always a couple of armed gangsters, couple of armed gangsters that were normally seen keeping watch over the break rooms and the second-in-command's office that took up the ground floor. The simple fact that this simple street gang even _had_ a competent second-in-command that handed out equipment was pretty damn impressive. The "quartermaster" was given strict instructions by Carnivore himself on what to hand out to whom as there were only certain gang members who had access to firearms. While all of his "friends" couldn't wait to get their paws on an UZI or at least a 9mm, Zack was actually relieved that his boss had never sent him on a mission that required him to pack a gun.

He already had plenty weighing down on his soul without taking a life.

He greeted his many "friends" in his overly-rehearsed, cheery way, but he couldn't have cared less to be in the company of the likes of them.

He didn't hate them. Quite the opposite, he felt sorry for them. Not a single wolf exceeded the age of twenty five, all of them misguided, poor youngsters looking to get rich quickly. They talked about hurting defenceless shop owners, getting away from the police while making sure that at least one of the cops spent a few days in the hospital, or trying out a new cocktail of drugs to see whether they'd die or have the best high they ever had.

And to top it all off, Carl "Carnivore" was rotting their minds even further with his disturbing, raving speeches. All of his colleagues were convinced that prey should be nothing but workforce and meat - a mere resource. That every single one of the 90% was a bigoted, privileged coward who only cared about not getting knocked off their throne that they "stole" from the kings of the food chain.

He felt sorry for them. For none of them were evil, but merely sick.

He found himself faced with the slightly better looking door of his boss's "suite." It was one of the few apartments that had survived more or less untouched by the district's fall into poverty. The hardwood door was obviously a replacement, but a surprisingly tasteful one.

As soon as he entered, Zack always felt as if he entered another building completely. Red walls were coupled with a pitch-black hardwood floor. There was a single desk in the main room, along with one grand red plush armchair and two smaller chairs on the other side for visitors. There was a grand bookcase on one side of the room, quite a surprise from a street gang leader. Zack had once taken a peek at the titles. There were quite a few titles of extremist pred-supremacy works, most notably the book by the dictator that had tried to lead the Predator Axis to nearly subjugate prey in all of Europe and perhaps the world to become nothing but slaves or food. The stories of the predators of Zootopia and the rest of the world that joined the Zootopian Allied Forces in order to protect not just prey, but all of mammal-kind from this sick ideology impressed Zack far more than any of those vile pieces of hatred that Carnivore had neatly arranged on the bookshelf.

There were also some rather disturbing paintings on the walls representing the Stone Age, or, more specifically, the time in which predators and prey were both nearly fully evolved, but most predator tribes continued to hunt prey. Judging by the similar style, they had all been made by the same artist.

They all depicted sabretooth tigers, wolves, lions and other predators ripping apart their mortal enemy: prey, ranging from a tiny rabbit futilely trying to save his life with a stone spear from a hungry wolf that had already bitten his paw off, to a mammoth attacked from all sides by muscular sabretooth tigers, his tusks flinging a few off, but the others digging their paws and foot-long fangs into the thick pelt of the massive beast.

These images were horrifying to say the least. There was something about the blood and flesh in the paintings that felt _real_. As if the artist himself had seen these mammals getting killed in such a gruesome fashion.

And of course, there was Carl "Carnivore" himself. His pelt was completely jet-black in contrast with his almost-red, small eyes. His fur was groomed and brushed far more carefully than any gang member. There was also something _off_ about his fangs. Zack couldn't really put his paws on it, but they looked _weird_ , to say the least.

Standing up, he was unusually tall for a wolf, standing over Zack by a head. He was as burly as a tiger athlete.

Carnivore wore a black leather jacket and jeans much like his underlings, but they were always spotless and well-arranged; he couldn't have looked more elegant if he was wearing a suit.

He always had an air of superiority, making one feel the need to sit down and listen to whatever he had to say. And if not, he was one of the most intimidating mammals Zack had ever laid eyes upon. He had watched this wolf slit throats with his own claws as casually as if he was blowing his nose. However, this mammal had treated Zack with a respect that wasn't seen with other underlings.

"Ah, Zack, take a seat. I have another mission for you today," spoke the black wolf in his usual deep tone. Zack had heard it a thousand times, but it never failed to send shivers down his spine.

"Sure, sir," Zack said, nodding quickly.

"You have been with us only a little time and you've already proven yourself to be more dependable than most of your colleagues. Truly, you're a predator worthy to stand by my side when we finally rise up against our weak oppressors! Truly one that will show all prey of the world that they are just feeble meat that should have been content with the fact that we let them live. But no, they took everything away from us! They-" he began ranting. Zack wasn't listening as Carnivore tended to do this a lot. Had there been any of his fellow gang members nearby, they'd have begun cheering for their chief as he preached hatred against all of prey kind.

"Well, today you become a full-fledged member. Go to Todd the quartermaster. He'll give you a 9mm," said the black wolf casually. Zack's heart leapt out of his chest and it took all of his self-control not to gasp for breath, but he managed to remain as stoic as ever.

"For what… sir?" he asked, feeling somewhat proud at the fact that he could get his voice not to quiver.

"It's about time you truly proved yourself. Do you know Dodge Woolerston?" asked Carnivore.

"Yes. I h-heard some of my homies talk about him. He's a-a difficult person a r-ram," stuttered Zack, struggling to find words. He kept on praying in his mind that his boss wouldn't ask to-

"Kill him. Snap a picture of his corpse and send it to me, delete the picture afterwards," said his boss as casually as if he was asking him to take out the trash.

All of Zack's world felt like it was crashing down. All the lies he told to his mother and to himself were finally piling up. He would be a murderer.

"Sir… I can't," he said, though he regretted it instantly.

The black wolf's red eyes narrowed slightly, but other than that, he showed no signs of anger.

"And why would that be?" asked Carl slowly, drawing out his pauses between words.

"I can't. I am not a murderer, sir," he stated firmly, although his legs began to feel like jelly as the red-eyed wolf glared at him.

"He's a ram. Prey. Have you not been paying attention to my lectures? He is nothing but a scourge on our kind. A predator killing prey is the most honourable thing that can happen in this twisted world," stated Carl calmly.

"Perhaps you're right, sir. But I am not strong enough. Perhaps I am still weak-minded and I see prey as actual mammals rather than meat or oppressors. But I am not capable of taking a life. No disrespect to you or any of my homies who do this; in fact, good for them. My sincerest congratulations to anyone who is capable of such a thing. But I am not," said Zack, trying his best to appeal to his boss's sense of pride.

Carnivore did nothing as he continued glaring at his underling.

"He owns a gym a few blocks away and refused to pay protection and prey tax to us. When I sent three of your homies to deal with him he beat them mercilessly. One of them may not even walk again. He told them that all wolves were bloodthirsty predators and that he's sorry that Bellwether didn't go through with her plan of completely segregating and subjugating predators! You're telling me that _meat_ like this deserves to live!?" snarled Carnivore, causing a cold shiver to run down Zack's spine, but he managed to keep his cool.

"I'm not saying that. All I'm saying is that I am not capable of doing it. But thank you for the opportunity, boss. I'll get on my usual duties," said Zack, attempting to get out of the room as quickly as possible.

Escape from the brutal world of murder in the form of turning the doorknob was just within his reach before the massive dark furred wolf cut him off, looking down on him. His gleaming red eyes made the smaller wolf back off ever so slightly, much to Carnivore's delight. Zack opened his mouth to say something, but his words refused to come out, and his breath hitched in his throat.

The tiger-sized wolf stood for a few more seconds in front of his underling, finally getting out of the way and opening the door for Zack.

"Very well. You may take the day off Zack," he said calmly. The young wolf took a confused glance at his unexpectedly easy-going boss, but he decided not to question it and just hightail it out of there before Carnivore changed his mind.

His tight breath finally escaped his chest.

"And you might as well say hello to your mother for me. You won't get to see her much anyway," announced the gang leader casually. Zack's feet grinded to a halt as his brain tried to process what he had just heard. He desperately searched for an explanation; maybe he had just misheard, or the malefic black wolf was bluffing.

He turned on his heels to see his boss approaching him, pure evil in those red eyes. It took all of his self-control not to scream as Carnivore's massive paw clenched down on his shoulder as he showed his knife-like teeth. Being a wolf, all of his relatives and most of his friends were predators, but those _teeth…_ there was something horrifying about them.

"What? You think I took you in on trust? Would you like me to tell you what TV shows your mother watches, what brand of corn flakes you feed her, what hours of the day you take her to the doctor, or how many rounds you go in the sparring ring?" asked his boss.

Zack felt his entire world shatter. All those months had gone by too easily, his sins way too unpunished. Carnivore had known from the start. The one person Zack thought would be easy to protect from the underworld was at the mercy of this _monster_ …

"You see, I do not want to do this. A predator killing another predator is a terrible deed. But sometimes it needs to be done. I hate to threaten you, Zack. I like you;you are everything that a good predator should be," stated Carnivore, causing Zack's knees to shake as he began to take in that all this time, they could have killed his mother at any given moment.

His fear suddenly turned into anger at this bastard that was threatening his mother. This monster who thought of prey as nothing but targets, who had managed to get dozens of poor youngsters to join him and commit the vilest things a mammal could do just to get him his blood money, nearly all of them indoctrinated by him with his sick ideology. Zack thought about surprising the large wolf with a quick knee in the stomach then taking him on. He had seen his boss in action, and he was a damn good fighter, not to mention merciless. He had seen Carnivore rip out the throats of two rams who attacked him without a flicker of emotion. But Zack had claws too. He would show him.

Without realizing it, Zack began snarling and clenching his paws into fists, his blue eyes narrowing into a terrifying predatory gaze. Carnivore smiled widely.

"Good. I want you to be like this when you kill that fucking ram. Make him feel like the feeble prey that he is; make him beg and realize who he messed with. Show him that he danced with the devil and lost," snarled Carnivore making Zack finally calm down.

"Actually, you may not even need the gun. Just rip his throat out, and shoot him only if you have to," the gang leader ordered, walking away before Zack could even muster the air to say anything.

The young wolf stood there for a while, trying to take in what had happened. He poked his cheek with his claws a couple of times, half-hoping that he would wake up from a nightmare. But he was still there. He still had a mission to murder an innocent mammal or let the one person who was the reason he got into this world in the first place die.

The choice was clear to him, yet impossible to make. Maybe he could persuade that guy to skip town. Have him play dead for the picture. Yes, it would work.

It _had_ to work.

A few hours later, Zack was standing outside the door of one of the better-off apartments in the neighbourhood. It was the residence of gym instructor, Dodge Woolerston. From what little Zack understood, Dodge hated wolves, let alone gang members, but there were many gym patrons who were predators. But then again, maybe he tolerated them for business reasons.

But either way, this mammal didn't deserve to die.

Zack felt the weight of the silenced pistol in the left side of his overcoat. It felt as if the cold piece of metal was a boulder strapped to his chest.

He knew that it would be difficult to persuade the ram, but he'd try. Tell him of the impending danger, ask him to play dead, and then skip town. Zack had to save the mammal's life.

He remembered his boss encouraging him to not even use the provided silenced Glock, but rather kill him _with his own claws_ like a "true" predator. The wolf felt his stomach turning at his boss's thoughts. How deep did a mind and soul have to sink into darkness to make someone do something like this? And to preach this kind of filth to misguided youngsters whom he already ordered to extort store owners and get into gang fights. Zack had to figure out a way to get out of this sick world.

He took a deep breath and then let it out, attempting to lower his heart rate to a point at least in which his paws were no longer shaking. He closed his eyes, thinking of his mother, of how - when it was all over - he could get back to living a normal life. Get back into college, maybe get back with his girlfriend.

All that was enough to calm his hyperactive nerves.

He raised his paw to knock on the worn wooden door. He approached it to the wood only to let it fall as he struggled to regain control over his breath. It was unlikely that anyone heard him. The shrilling sounds of a heated argument between boyfriend and girlfriend, culminating with a dull hit and a scream from the girl, and a cub crying from hunger while his mother yelled at him in a raspy voice only characteristic of meth-heads to shut his mouth could be heard in the hall.

Why the ram continued to live here after he had made a small fortune off his gym was beyond the young wolf. Perhaps it was a sort of statement to the Growl Street wolf gang. _Most likely_ , Zack thought.

Zack had taken extra precaution and bought a white hoodie to replace his leather jacket that could easily have sold him out as a Growl Street gang member. He had to do that if he wanted a chance to speak with the ram.

Eventually he forced himself to tap on the door three times, the dull clicks echoing into his heart and turning it into ice. He gasped for air as he jumped backwards.

He had done it.

Zack prayed that the guy wasn't home. He could return to Carnivore and tell him that he couldn't find the guy and then-

Heavy hooves trampled against hardwood flooring as they drew closer and closer. Zack wanted to run, but his legs turned into lead, keeping him in place and refusing to budge. He could do nothing as the sound of trampling hooves approached.

 _Right, control your breathing. Just talk to the guy; convince him to skip town and save his life._

The door simply swung open, without the tumbling of a single lock. _Kept his door unlocked in a neighbourhood like this, pretty brave guy_ , Zack thought.

Dodge Woolerston was a ram the size of a rhino with shoulders in two different time zones. He lacked the trademark belly and his wool was scarcer than most rams he had seen, most likely to better enhance his physique. He towered over the wolf by two heads and was at least three times Zack's weight. This guy reeked of sweat mixed with way too much deodorant, creating an eye- watering stench. The massive mammal was wearing a red wire-mesh tank top, dark training shorts, and equally dark expensive sneakers.

His eyes were beady little dark balls which regarded the wolf with disgust and anger. His twisted horns seemed to almost flare up at the sight of the gang member.

"What the hell do you want, pred?" the ram asked bluntly, snarling as harshly as his prey genes allowed him.

Zack's mind raced. Asking the guy if he could come in would most likely get him nowhere. This guy hated, or at least had a deep prejudice against predators. But then again, the ram had a few preds at his gym. _Wait a minute_ , Zack thought as an idea popped into his head.

"I must be at the wrong address. My friend told me this was the where the 'Cheetah's Speed' gym owner was at. Sorry to bother you, sir," the wolf said so casually that he was actually proud of himself. He then pretended to turn around.

"Wait, wait!" he heard the ram stammer behind him. Looks like the ram's fear of losing a customer defeated his disdain for preds.

"You could have just called," said the ram, smiling for the first time.

"I'm old fashioned. I like to make any and all arrangements face to face," said Zack, forcing himself to smile. _Yes, this would work out just fine_ , he thought.

"Well, come in, I guess!" exclaimed the ram, clearing the doorway. The wolf thanked him briefly and walked in.

The apartment was definitely better than most of the others around the building. The hallway had white tiles and walls and was squeaky clean. It was small, only a coat hanger and shoe drawer being present, but it still managed to be a pleasant enough room to be in.

The small living room had a red carpet covering the entire floor, but the walls were just as white as the hallway's. The sofa was covered in faux, jet-black leather and faced a rather expensive TV.

An aged, yet well-catered benchpress was set up on the other side of the room, alongside well-stacked weights, barbells, and a heavy punching bag a couple of yards away from it. A few trophies and medals were displayed proudly above the TV. While this guy clearly wasn't at the top of his career, owning a gym in a seedy neighbourhood, he clearly had been a professional athlete at some point and was a mammal taken through the fires of life.

"Would you like a soda, water, coffee? Something stronger, perhaps?" asked the ram as Zack followed him into the living room.

"I'm fine, thanks," responded the wolf, feeling anxiety return to him as soon as he remembered what he had to do. He involuntarily looked away from the ram as he quietly breathed in and out in an effort not to succumb to a panic attack.

"Are you… okay?" asked Dodge, eyeing the wolf with suspicion. Zack tried looking back at the ram, only to instantly find himself looking away from the mammal's beady, insistent gaze. He didn't see his eyes narrow, but he almost felt it in his bones.

"You're not actually here for a gym membership, are you?" snarled the ram. Zack looked back at him, trying his best to not look away this time. He stared back into those two furious dark beads, using every single ounce of courage he had in order not to look away.

"You need to skip town, Mr. Woolerston," stated Zack as calmly as he could, his outside anxiety finally transformed into a mask of indifference even though his insides twisted and his heart was pumping as much blood into his trained muscles as it was capable of.

The ram's beady eyes got even smaller and he approached the wolf, whom he stood a head and shoulders taller and was about as wide as half the canine's height.

"And why the _hell_ would I do that?" the ram growled in a way that Zack had previously only thought predators to be capable of. The young lupine's mind quickly set up ways to make the huge ram see reason.

"You are being targeted by the Growl Street Wolf Gang. They will not rest until they see you dead. It's no longer a matter of paying protection fees to them, but of killing you on sight," said Zack with a calmness and firmness that he was actually quite proud of.

The ram barked out a laugh.

"Those puppies!? Let them come! I already sent three of those pukes to the hospital!" he said with a wide smile.

Zack took a step toward him, much to the ram's surprise and displeasure.

"Oh yeah? And what are you gonna do, tough guy, kill them? And what are you gonna do tomorrow? Those three small-timers weren't the last you saw of them. They have guns, and their boss is a merciless monster whom I'd rather not go into detail about how he punishes his... ' _clients_ ' that fail to provide protection income. Think about what this person is capable of doing to someone who put three of his underlings in the hospital and insulted him and all predator kind. You are in danger every second you stay in this neighbourhood, and even in Zootopia ," stated Zack.

The ram opened his mouth to say something, but closed it back up. Zack knew that he had offered the best argument possible: the cold hard facts. If that didn't convince him, then… The wolf's fur stood on the back of his head as he realized what he'd have to do then.

"Alright. You've got a point. I hate to agree with you, pred, but I bit off more than I could chew. I raised enough money to open up a gym in another town, anyway. It was a dumb idea coming to this shithole of a neighbourhood anyway," said the ram, anger still present on his features. But, the young wolf also saw that Dodge was being sincere.

"Alright, now scram, mutt!" demanded Woolerston. Zack barely registered the jarring insult to his species as he remembered what else he had to do.

"Before I do that, please, lie down on the floor," said Zack, taking a pack of fake blood out of his pocket that he took from a stage-prop store.

"He threatened me and my mother. He told me to send him a picture of your corpse. I need to make it look real, then you'll never see me again," said Zack calmly. The ram began laughing almost hysterically, drawing nearer to the wolf and almost knocking him down with his broad chest.

He fixed the wolf with a grin and a sadistic gaze.

"You think I give a shit about what happens to you or your flea-scratching bitch mom? Get the hell out of my house before I make a rug out of you," the ram snarled into his face.

Zack almost didn't take in what the bastard had said in the first second. In the next, he felt all the pent-up fear and terror from the moment Carnivore had ordered him to kill this mammal, to the moment he walked the steps of his apartment, to this very moment, all turn into pure rage and hatred.

How dare this piece of meat talk like this about him and his mother, whom he had never even met? He saved his life, the ungrateful bastard!

Before his brain had time to fully analyse the consequence of his action, he sent a knee into the ram's stomach. He followed it up with two crosses on Dodge's face.

Zack noticed with satisfaction that he had already drawn blood, the ram's wool stained with the blood of his gums. Wait, why was he so satisfied that he was _hurting_ a prey?

Before he had time to think about it, the ram picked him up by the hem of his collar and threw him into the trophy case, knocking all the wind out of him. One of the trophies fell on his shoulder and nearly broke out of its socket.

Zack knew that recovering was paramount, so he rolled out of the way just as the ram's fist created a sizeable dent in the wall where he had been a fraction of a second ago.

The wolf kicked Dodge in the back of the knee, hoping that this would get him down, but being out of breath, he couldn't calculate the distance properly and only ended up bruising his calf.

The ram turned around with a savage roar and threw a ham-sized hoof at the wolf's snout. Zack's kickboxing instincts kicked in, and he leaned back while his paws went to cover his face. Dodge still managed to partially hit him, the slight blow feeling more powerful to Zack than any punch he had ever received before. The ram wasted no time and sent a punch to the wolf's stomach, breaking his experienced elbow guard with ease. Apparently, some of those trophies were for contact sports, Zack bitterly thought.

Zack felt his insides bruise to the core as he desperately tried to dodge and block all of the monstrous ram's surprisingly swift blows.

The wolf found a break in the ram's defence and sent a swift left uppercut to his ribs, following up with a cross to his jaw and ignoring the fact that he nearly broke his paw in the process.

The ram merely grunted slightly, even as blood spewed from his mouth and onto the snow-white walls.

Dodge decided at this point to simply use strength over training. He grabbed Zack's guarding arms and threw him on the ground, making sure to aim for the sharp edge of an end table. Zack coughed out all his air as the solid wooden edge bit into his liver and crumpled to the ground.

As a last-ditch attempt at gaining the upper paw, the wolf grabbed the end table and tried swinging it at the approaching hulk of a ram. The massive mammal kicked the solid table, shattering it into pieces and blinding Zack momentarily. But one moment was all it took.

The ram pinned the wolf with his enormous weight and began pommeling the defenceless predator. Zack tried fighting off the ground by blocking his blows, but the reach advantage was too great against his favor. His world became nothing but an endless barrage of closed hooves, connecting so hard and so fully with his skull that he didn't even feel the pain anymore. His ears were ringing so hard that he barely even registered the ram's grunts of rage every time a hoof nearly cracked his head.

Zack knew from the sheer savagery of the guy's blows that he wasn't just planning of knocking him unconscious. He would die here.

"This. Is. What. You. Deserve! Every single last one of you!" yelled the ram, emphasising each word with yet another savage blow.

"You're all nothing but a bunch of savages! A pack of carnivores! No regard for your fellow mammal! You haven't evolved for shit since the stone age! I wish Bellwether would have gone ahead with her plan and put every single last one of you bloodthirsty predators in concentration camps!" he shrieked, continuing to pommel the nearly disfigured youngster.

Savage. Carnivore. Predator.

All these words triggered something in the back of Zack's now barely functioning brain.

" _Nature has wished for us to be the superior mammals. It used to be that those who were carnivore were respected and feared, even after our evolution. Now, it is a shame. There are laws talking about how long our claws should be! Chicken, the last source of forgotten hunt, is considered offensive to eat in the presence of prey. Do you know why that is? Because every time they see claws they think about their rightful place. Every time they see us eating pathetic chicken meat they remember how long ago, that could have been them. How they are naturally supposed to only run from us, respect us,_ _fear_ _us! They are reminded that their position was stolen from us and that we could take it back if we all stood together as predator brothers and sisters! First, only a fraternity of wolves, then of all predators!"_

The very words which he had been shocked by, the very ones that he had sworn to never listen to, had made him return to the living.

Another hoof connected with his muzzle. The ram was quite spent as he was breathing heavily, and his fists were falling on their own rather than properly swung; however, it still hurt worse than any pain the wolf had felt before. He tried to scream, but only a pitiful moan escaped his throat.

The next thing he felt was hatred. But it wasn't like any other hatred he had felt before.

No, this was something far more primal, far more deep-rooted in his DNA. Something _savage._

This piece of _meat_ was taking pleasure in killing him. He dared to think about his former overlords, predators, that they were nothing but a pack of brainless beasts that needed to be put down.

His claws became unsheathed on their own.

The next fist was met with a full set of claws, creating a sizable gash in the ram's forearm. The unsuspecting Dodge screamed in pain, finally retracting.

Zack felt like he had no control of his body as he swung another paw for his assailant and finding tough flesh, but he didn't care. His kickboxing training went completely out the window as a far more primal fighting style took its place.

The ram jumped a few steps backwards, terror in his expression. His terror brought a new, foreign, yet somewhat _familiar_ feeling of victory. Victory over his prey.

But that was all what Carnivore had been preaching… NO! He needed to fight it! He couldn't let someone as vile as his boss take over his mind!

He focused on his mother, his friends, his college…

It worked. The red haze had lessened. He wouldn't become a savage like the rest of Growl Street.

A mac truck hitting him brought him out of his attempts to regain his sanity. The ram's headbuttsent Zack flying to the other side of the room. His ribs felt as if they had been momentarily squeezed by a car crusher as he landed with a dull thud.

His gun flew out of his inside pocket from the blow. He quickly caught it and pulled the hammer. _Just threaten him with the gun, get him to play dead and skip town_ , the wolf thought. With the added injuries from their fight, it would look all the more convincing on the photo sent to Carnivore.

The ram gasped for air as he rushed to the wolf with the intent to disarm him.

"Sir! Please, calm down, we can still-" he was cut off by a hoof grasping the barrel of his silenced Glock and the other punching his bleeding muzzle once again. He grasped his gun tighter and put his own paw around the silencer barrel to wrestle it away.

The ram screamed in fury and panic as he pushed the gun closer to the wolf, trying to align the barrel with the canine's skull. Zack tried to push back, but the sheer mass of the ram was too much to fight against. Little by little, the barrel began smiling sadistically at him. A muffled shot went off and a steaming black hole appeared just inches away from the wolf's head.

He had to do something! Zack once again plunged his claws in the ram's forearm. Despite being led by brains rather than sheer savage instinct, it still had the same effect, making the ram scream as another deep gash appeared on his forearm. Zack was finally able to push the gun just a little more toward the ram.

Acting on sheer survival instinct, he pulled the trigger.

There was no roar of pain, no silent grunt - only the muffled shot and a sickening sound like cockroach getting squashed.

Zack scrambled away. He hoped he had misheard everything. He hoped he had maybe just chipped the ram's shoulder. He hoped that it was all just a horrible dream - everything from this very moment to his mother's cancer. If he was lucky, he'd wake up at any minute.

But the ram's lifeless eyes, half-rolled up into his skull and glaring up at him were all too real.

Zack gasped for air and jumped backwards as he blinked automatically, half-expecting that the corpse would disappear with the next blink. But he was still there; the walls were still stained with both of their blood, and his pure-white hoodie was a bloody mess.

He was a murderer. He had killed a mammal simply because his boss had told him to. Because Carnivore - a homicidal, bigoted maniac - had pointed the finger at him and said "he needs to go".

"I'm so sorry," Zack pathetically whispered as tears began welling in his eyes.

He felt bile rise up from his nearly empty stomach as he pointed his phone at the bloody corpse to snap the proof. It took a while to focus the shot as his paws were trembling uncontrollably.

After sending the picture to Carnivore, Zack slumped against a wall, covered his face with his paws, and began sobbing his once-innocent heart out. What had he become? When would it end? And even if it did end, nothing would ever change the fact that he had taken a life. Nothing would ever negate his sins, his lies, all the unspeakable evils he had done while serving those lost souls.

Just half a minute later he received a response.

" _Sloppy, but good job. Sending someone to pick you up and clean up the scene. You've earned your stripes, Glorious Wolf,"_ was what Carnivore had sent. Zack spat on the screen and threw his phone on the carpet.

His hatred of himself was defeated only by his hatred of his boss.


	11. Chapter 9- The Downward Spiral

_**Yes, I'm still alive! Can you believe it!? Nearly two months of not posting!  
Basically, Uni has been completely screwing me over day in and day out and I had a good chunk of last month in which I just had to study the hardest I've ever studied in my life.**_ _**However, now I am back and I should probably be posting normally from now on, maybe even a new Fox and Bunny Stew oneshot.**_

For any questions, please PM me.

* * *

From that very moment, everything changed.

Hope was replaced with desperation. Desperation that he had gotten into a hell that he could no longer get out of.

His boss had greeted him with a hero's welcome. All of his "homies" were waiting for him, cheering that he had rid the world of a vile piece of meat - a scourge on all predators .

He had to fight hard not to spit at their feet and storm out of the derelict building. Instead, he forced himself to play along with his boss and his fellow gang members, smiling, laughing, and trying to have a good time over the death of a mammal who just had the balls to try to earn a decent living in the worst place imaginable.

Yes, the ram may have been nearly as much of a bigot as Carnivore, but considering what experience he had had with preds, it was somewhat understandable.

The wolf spent quite a few hours in Dr. Greco's office, a retired Dingo doctor who took care of any mobster, assassin, or gangster that crossed his doorstep, no questions asked as long as they left him money. He was the only choice in the area for most Underworld members, because if you went to the hospital with a bullet wound, first thing they did was call the police.

Truth be told, it was far better than he had expected. Three cracked ribs, a sprained wrist, major bruising in his skull, and all his teeth were - remarkably - still in their place.

But even if he would have been forced to spend the rest of his life in a wheelchair, it wouldn't have compared to the emotional damage all this had done to Zacharias Alexander Wolfbane.

The sound of the silenced bullet carving its way into Dodge's skull, and the hot blood rushing down his paws refused to go away. Zach squeezed his eyes shut as Greco put his ribs back in the right position, but amidst the darkness of his own eyelids, the ram kept appearing. So, he was forced to bear the pain as it was, in its purest form.

Exactly the way he deserved it.

His mother had called him a few times, the poor woman wondering what was taking her son so long to come back from his "job." The avatar of his white-furred, blue-eyed mother was painful to look at, even as he flicked the red "Reject Call" button in the next second.

Eventually, he turned his phone off as the illegal Dingo doctor prepared an antiseptic for him. He couldn't bear to imagine his mother's concerned features and groans of worry every time he didn't answer.

Zach thought about answering and saying something quickly along the lines of his boss keeping him overtime, but the simple thought of facing his mother after what he had done, her warm voice welcoming a murderer, a _savage_ like him. It was too much to bear.

So, he settled for simply shutting it all out. Delaying the inevitable, something he had been doing for the past several months. What was he thinking when he accepted this twisted world? Had he not seen then what vile sins he would be forced to do? What he would become? How many lives he would have to ruin just to save one?

And most importantly, had he not seen once he got in that there was no escape? How could he have been so blind, so selfish? How could he have lied to his mother in such a vile manner for months, her cancer treatment being funded by blood money?

Every penny he made was blood money. Even something as simple as delivering packages led to the death and suffering of dozens of innocent mammals. And for what? Just so that he could save his mother's life without breaking his back at the docks, or his face in pro kick-boxing?

Zach had been a selfish bastard. Only now did he realize that he went into this not because it was the only way, but because it was the _easiest_ way.

He had chosen killing for a living over an honest life. And his entire lifetime would be haunted by this choice.

"Right. You got pretty roughed up, but for your first job, I'd say you didn't fuck it up too badly. No one called the cops, and the boys were able to secure the body and clean up the scene without any problems. Just take it easy for the next few days. I told the boss to give you a week off. Have fun, but not with hookers; your ribs were nearly broken and the slightest shock will negate everything I did," said the doctor for whom the Hippocrates Oath meant nothing anymore, but Zack wasn't even listening. He was just trying to get the image of Dodge Woolerston's lifeless eyes gazing up at him out of his head. Not that it mattered; nothing would change the facts.

His life from this very moment was over. Hope was gone.

"Hey kid!" exclaimed the doctor, snapping his fingers in front of the youngster. Zach's head jerked upwards at the dingo's brown eyes.

"It got to you, huh?" the doctor asked casually. Zach didn't answer as he stared at the doc with a blank expression. Apparently, that was all that the dingo needed.

"Don't worry, most of your homies are like that. It always does something to you the first time. Then you get used to it. Hell, you may even start to enjoy it." The dingo said in an almost cheery tone as he lit a cigarette.

The wolf felt his insides twist with how much casualness and _joy_ this mammal used while talking about taking lives. It was ironic, considering the dingo's occupation was to stop the pain. However, the fires of rage were stamped out before they were even lit. Zach had long since developed an apathy to everyone around him being a complete psychopath. He had become desensitized to evil itself.

And thus, he had become part of it.

Helping and accepting evil is the same thing as being evil itself.

He set off for his home. It was night. Usually in Zootopia, the night was brighter than the day, with neon lights shining bright among hundreds of thousands of city lights, stadiums, and nightclubs against the dark blue sky. The sounds of distant concerts, traffic, laughter, and chatter from the nightlife lit up the atmosphere.

However, the night was now barren. The run-down neighbourhood was dark and dingy. Even with his night vision, it was difficult to focus on anything. The lights and the nightlife were somewhat visible, yet unreachable.

His old, noble life could be seen, but not touched. It was over. All he had left were regrets. Zach began slowly trotting down the street, not looking at what was ahead of him and simply using his mental map to get back to his house - back to his mother.

He could have taken a cab. Carnivore had given him a small fortune for the _job_ , his ribs were hurting like hell, and he would have arrived much quicker to his worried mother. But he didn't. He hadn't even considered it.

His overheated brain ran on autopilot and simply blanked his mind out, possibly as a self-defence mechanism to not succumb to his thoughts of what he had done only hours ago.

He kept going forward, feeling _empty_. He didn't feel guilt. He didn't feel worry. He didn't feel anything.

It was if someone had yanked out his frontal lobe: he was completely emotionless.

He didn't think of what he'd do from now on. He didn't think of how he'd take care of his mother.

And just like that, in what felt like no time at all, he was in front of his apartment building. The Zootopian nightlife was somewhat present in this neighbourhood on the outskirts of Tundratown. In his emotionless trod, Zach hadn't even noticed the dramatic temperature shift.

Usually - even with his thick, frost-used pelt, owed to his mother's arctic wolf genes - he almost felt as if he was getting hypothermia when he switched from the dreadful, gang-controlled neighbourhood to the smooth, white neighbourhood with the great, snow-capped domes of the Tundratown Cathedral visible in the distance. The bustling Fish Market could be heard, a family of polar bears walking away from it, laughing and chatting as they looked inside their bags and the children screaming in joy at their mother about what they'd be eating tonight. Zach's breath caught into his throat when he noticed that one of the younger bears, about his age, was pushing an elderly bear in her wheelchair. He instantly knew from her rare fur and glassy eyes that she was a cancer patient.

He held her paw tightly as she smiled in spite of herself, her son pushing her just so she could be with her family - so she could enjoy her last few days with the mammals she loved the most.

 _Like a good son…_

He hitched a sob in his throat as he threw himself into his apartment building, shutting out the happy family and the rest of the world with a simple slam of the door.

He breathed in and out periodically as he walked to the entrance of his apartment. He paced in circles, as if inserting the key or ringing the doorbell were abstract concepts to him.

No matter how easy the task at hand was, his brain refused to do it. It was as if he knew that he no longer had permission to enter the apartment.

A towering, wooly mammal appeared in the corner of his eye. The ram snarled, seemingly ready to strike.

Zack yelped and jumped backwards, ready to face the ghost of his own victim. It was gone. Just his imagination.

He felt his sanity slipping away as he saw blood splash on the dark and dingy walls. He heard a muffled shot and the sound of a bullet penetrating a skull soon after. It went away just as quickly as it came, but new and terrible hallucinations took its place.

He couldn't take it anymore.

He put his weight on the handle, but the door refused to budge. The murdered ram approached and emitted shrieking noises, a chilly knife protruding from between his ribs.

No! It was just his imagination! Just his imagination.

His shaking paws took hold of his keys. Which one was it? There were only three keys; how could he not remember which one it was?.

Just as the ram produced another shriek and placed an ice-cold hoof on the wolf's shoulder, Zack dropped his keys.

No, no, no, no, no!

He dropped to the floor to find the keys and to avoid the ram - his ghost, his imagination, he didn't care. All he cared about was getting away from the it, get away from the guilt and the blood he had shed.

He managed to open the door just as an icy, boney hoof grasped his wrist. Without thinking, he slammed the door closed and breathed a sigh of relief as he slumped against the old wooden barrier that now kept out his demon.

He walked into the hallway, hoping that his mother had not heard anything. Maybe she was asleep. She often was at this hour and-

"You're back," a dry voice stated.

His mother sat on the worn red plush couch. Her blue eyes had dimmed by an incredible amount and almost seemed to have shrunken in size as they regarded her son with a sad disappointment.

Her white fur - which, despite much of it having fallen out, still retained its gorgeous shine - now looked matted and dirty in some places.

"M-Mom," Zack stuttered, not knowing what else to say. Her gaze didn't change.

"You look horrible. What happened?" his mother asked, barely choking back a sob. Zack felt the cold knife of guilt stab his heart even more so than when he had murdered - no, don't think about that now.

"Well, at the gym, I-" he began.

"Don't you fucking _dare_ say that it was just another sparring accident!" she snapped, tears streaming down her face. Zack gasped in surprise. This was the first time he had ever heard his mother swear. And she had _never_ used that tone with him before.

"No, really, me and the boys got jumped as we left. It was," he paused as he formulated the rest of his lie, "that tiger I beat last week. He was pissed off that I had ruined his perfect record and decided to grab a bunch of his friends and catch us on a street corner. We were outnumbered, but thankfully," another pause, "some cops were around and we were able to hold our own. I had to give a statement and stay at the hospital for a while." He was surprised that he finished the lie with minimal stuttering.

The glare that only a heartbroken mother could give went straight through his soul.

"Really?" she asked, crying in barely a whisper. "You're lying," she accused simply, wiping her eyes. Zack wiped his own tears of guilt before continuing.

"Mom, I'm-" he tried to say.

"Yes, you _are_ lying, and don't you dare say otherwise! You've been lying for months, I know!" she screamed once again, ending in a fit of sobbing and covering her scarcely-furred face with her boney paws.

Zack began to sob as well as he saw how all his sins had finally caught up to him into this very moment.

He went to the couch alongside his mother and wrapped his paws around her heaving, shaking frame. For a moment she gave into his embrace, burying her head into his shoulder and trying to find the comfort she usually felt when her son helped her overcome her cancer.

However, the moment had passed as all moments do, and she pushed him away.

Zack simply stood on the couch, avoiding his mother's gaze and focusing his eyes on nothing in particular. He knew that it was over. His mother knew, probably not of exactly what evils he had done, but she knew that he had lied and lied and lied.

"I called every hospital," she began. "And every single police station in this damned city, asking about you. Nothing. You are lying," she continued. Even though Zack didn't look at her face, he knew that tears were streaming down it once again.

"I should have known. I should have known that all that money couldn't have come from part-time jobs. But I contradicted reality. Why? Because I trusted you. Because I thought you were a good enough mammal to not give in to the temptations no matter the circumstances. It never even crossed my mind that you were doing something like this," she trailed off in a heartbroken whisper. Zack felt the need to dig his own claws into his throat as he heard his mother struggling to not completely break down. Where was the kind-hearted son she used to have? He sure as well wasn't someone who was capable of killing another mammal for money.

"Mom, look, there's no other way. Do you know how much chemo costs? It would have been nothing but a dream if I hadn't made this decision! I could have done nothing but watch you die! Nothing but cross days off the calendar until you died in the worst way possible! I chose to fight, like you. You fight in the hospital ward, I fight out there. It'll all be over as soon as I save up enough money to pay for your treatment until the doctor gives you the right surgery.

"I'm not proud of what I'm doing. But what I _am_ proud of is that I'm saving you. You come first over every other life in the world. I love you, Mom, and I'd do anything to save you. You think I like what I am forced to do out there? No. But if it will save you, and save _me_ in the long run, I'm willing to do it," reasoned Zack. He felt his heart shred itself apart in his chest. He hardly believed a thing he had said. There was no excuse for what he did. There was always an alternative to selling your soul.

Zack's mother remained quiet for a few moments, eyes downcast on the aged carpet. "You know, we also cared about our families back when we maimed innocent prey to stay alive," interjected his mother harshly.

"What?" he asked, not having listened carefully as he was lost in his own dark thoughts. "You heard me. Before our evolution, back when we were all savages, we still cared about our families. We did everything for our cubs and our loved ones from our pack. Be it butchering an entire burrow to get some meat for the winter, killing the Alpha male to establish dominance, or drying a river to force prey to fall into our waiting jaws, we did it for our loved ones. But we were animals. Savages.

"We've evolved. We can think outside the box. We can realize what the consequences our actions are on _other_ mammal's families. We can think about others. We have developed the ability to care about animals that we don't love," his mother lectured, using a pleasant tone for the first time that evening.

She gently cupped his paws with her own. He still remained motionless, deep in thought.

"After all, what am I, Zacharias? One animal among billions. You cannot ignore all the other souls to just save one. I love you, and I want you to live without innocent lives lost pressing on your shoulders, your past following you at every corner like a hungry ghoul. I know that my time has come earlier than either of us would have liked, but look at yourself.

"You are an adult now. I gave birth to you, I raised you, and I made sure that you were the best mammal that I could raise. You need to hold your own in this world and become independent of me. Do you know why I protested you leaving college to get jobs? Because you were sacrificing your vast future for my few months left. You talking about me living six months, one year, two years as if it's the only thing that matters.

"But what is life when my only son is throwing away everything just to buy me some time? What am I, Zach? A drop in the ocean living on borrowed time. Some artificially living mammal," she soothed, rubbing Zack's shaking back as he was choking back sob after sob.

Zach embraced his mother, thinking of all that he had done and how he had justified it with _maybe_ saving one person.

"You're such a good boy, Zach. Don't ruin that because of me. Live your life. And know that I am satisfied with what I have done on this Earth. I have left you on it. That's all I can ask for," she said, tears streaming down her scarcely-furred face.

Zach lost himself in the moment, trying to forget about the fact that there still was no getting out of this dark world he had become a part of.

He recalled all the moments he had with his mother, helping her through all of this during the few months before joining the gang. Since that day, he worked his fingers to the bone all the time, coming back to his mother at eleven in the evening. The arctic wolf waited for her son's return, a son who she thought was sacrificing everything for her.

He was doing that and so much more, dragging other innocent mammals down with him into the pit. He needed to man up and tell his mother the truth.

"I want to get out of this world, Mom. I've been wanting to do so ever since I figured out what they actually were, but now I can't," Zach sobbed.

He could almost feel his mother's heart dropping to her stomach and her tears returning to her eyes.

"He - he revealed today that-" Zach paused, looking away from his mother's shocked and disappointed gaze, "He's been watching me ever since I joined. He knows about you, your schedule, _my_ schedule. He's probably got someone watching right now. Wiretaps, microphones, just plain-old spying - I have no idea how he's doing it, but I can't leave. Not anymore. Not without putting you in danger," He said simply, looking out the dusty window into the endless white of Tundratown washed over by the radiant orange light of the lampposts and scarce traffic.

His heart twisted with guilt and self-hatred as he heard his mother letting go of tiny, almost inaudible sobs. He then felt a thousand bee-stings assault his cheek as his mother slammed her atrophied paw against his cheek. The impact didn't even make him flinch, but the emotional damage was done. He simply wanted to slam his head against the aged coffee table, hopefully bringing him peaceful oblivion into the next day in the form unconsciousness. But he didn't; not in front of the mammal who used to be his mother.

* * *

From that moment, she had given up. She would simply stare at him every morning with the combination of an angry glare and a disappointed gaze.

Every time he went out, Zack made a point out of closing the door as fast as possible and not staying so that he wouldn't hear her beginning to cry uncontrollably. He had learned this trick the hard way.

He had stayed behind one time. When he heard his mother beginning to sob as soon as she thought that he was out of the apartment block, he slumped against the wall, slid down and began to cry himself in tandem with her. He wanted to go back and comfort her. But what for?

What good was the comfort of the mammal you've raised with all the love in the world, yet still became a cutthroat and then had the audacity to rub in your face that he's doing it for you?

What good was the comfort of the one who made your life a living hell? One without expectations, without vision? A life where the sole thing that you left on this Earth was a son who turned to evil?

What good was the comfort of a _murdering thug_?

Zack's days began to blend together.

It was the same background of filth and decadence day in and day out.

It was not just sinking into evil, his world became nothing more than a never ending circle of decadence, sinking further and further, yet… he felt nothing. It was _monotone…_

He had no one to talk to. Those that were willing to talk to him were killers, the very thing that he had sworn to stay away from. He realized just how hypocritical he was, being a killer himself.

He had completely enstranged himself from his mother, from his girlfriend, from his best friends, from _everyone_ that cared about him.

What did he have to lose? Absolutely nothing.

Zack got worse. He didn't know much about cocaine, except that it was some pretty powerful shit and that his "homies" couldn't get enough of it. He once learned in some long-forgotten school lesson that it jostled up the pleasure sensors in the brain, or something.

He didn't care as long as he forgot - as long as he could escape his hellish reality.

Day in and day out he reveled in the grimy decadence, the endless circle which slowly but surely pulled him into the abyss continuing.

Might as well hurry it up himself.

His "friends" were overjoyed that he had finally joined their "parties".

He was already idolized for killing the ram that had mocked and defied them for months, and they were all too tucked away in their own flimsy ideology indoctrinated by Carnivore to realize just how sickened Zach was with the lot of them.

Or was he anymore? He had long since developed a complete apathy and indifference for them. Seeing his counterparts performing vile deeds had stopped affecting him.

And now, everything had stopped affecting him. Even the begs of his own mother.

What did he have to lose? He could be transported to an artificial world of infinite pleasure rather than face his problems and try to solve them.

* * *

He floated outside the building straight into Tundratown. How had he gotten there so quickly? And why was he now in Sahara Square? It didn't matter. Just keep on going while everything felt so good. Wherever his destination was, he was going the right way.

Right?

"Hey, why are you laughing at me?" Zack asked a deer. Or was that a leopard? The mammal jumped back as he saw the wolf.

"Um, I didn't laugh at you sir. Please excuse me," said the mammal nervously as he crossed into another dimension. Or was that just the other side of the road?

A sharp pain erupted from his abdomen, causing the wolf to fall to his knees. However, it was soon replaced by pleasure once again. He was floating back to the seedy neighbourhood. But what was so seedy about it? It was wonderful! All his friends were there. And there were always more drugs there to keep him _there_ , to forget about… actually what had he wanted to forget about? Who was he?

And where was he? He didn't care.

Suddenly, however, he was cornered. Trapped. By whom? By what? He didn't know, but terrible vistas of emptiness revealed themselves. Wherever he ran, his path was obstructed, the cold stone itself seeming bent on preventing his escape from this mad world. His screams went unheard by even himself. The screams of the ram, the sobs of his mother, the hellish chants and claps of his homies when he announced that he had killed the "feeble prey," all of it echoed through his skull.

Quite a fitting experience, as it was just like him joining the gang. Milk, honey, riches, and pleasures to tempt him in the beginning, while the darkness, madness, and evil of what he was doing only revealed themselves once it was already too late to turn back.

* * *

Days later, it was all over again. Or had it been weeks? Months? He didn't know. The days blended into each other. His sole true companion, his mother, became a stranger. A borderline enemy. No longer was there thought in his mind of paying for her treatment when he did the evils deeds for the gang. He mechanically drove her to the hospital, as if incapable of denying his programming.

All his escapes were now related to that fucking gang.

There was no fighting it. No denying it.

And it was all his fault. It was his own greed, arrogance, and desire to be the "alpha male" that drove him to put himself and his mother's health over other mammal's lives, including his and his mother's.

She would have rather died a million times over than seeing her son become _that._

* * *

Nick Wilde kept on tailing the wolf. He still didn't trust the kid 100%, and he sure as hell wasn't going to let him wander off after he got a mission from his boss. He was sure that Judy would have frowned upon it, but the kid was an informant, their _only_ informant, and he might have been playing both sides to get his boss's favour.

Yet, there had been a genuine sadness in the lupine's eyes when he told his story and of his mother's passing. Nick Wilde had hustled others nearly all his life by reading mammals, and he knew an emotional wolf when he saw one.

Still, knowing what the kid was up to was a must.

The fox pressed on, the relative warmth of early spring being replaced by the artificial, biting cold of Tundratown. Nick was glad he had put on a thin fleece jacket to fight the cold at least a bit. Not that it bothered him too much, but being warm helped him concentrate.

He had tailed mammals before, and his police experience had only helped to further establish the trait. He used pipes, rooftops, and side alleys only he knew to remain unseen while still keeping a firm eye on the dark-furred, blue-eyed wolf.

The black wolf's posture was slumped: shoulders fallen, muzzle pointed downwards at the snowy pavement. Despite being quite tall for his species, he seemed small. No, he seemed as if he wanted to hunch into himself, deliberately disappearing from this world.

Nick chased those thoughts away and continued following the mammal at a safe distance, cutting through the back alley of a nightclub as a shortcut to where he had deduced that the wolf would be heading.

After a while, the wolf stopped dead in his tracks and sat down on a bench. He didn't seem to be waiting for someone, but rather seem to be deep in thought. He rubbed at his eyes constantly, and he kept on changing his position as if the bench was covered in nails.

Nick squinted his eyes at the wolf. What was he doing? Why was he so nervous?

The wolf eventually jumped up as if something had burned him and Nick flinched despite being dozens of yards away. What was it with this kid?

Zack then walked into a flower shop that was on the other side of the road. It was then that the fox had realized that the wolf had been staring at the flower shop ever since he had been sitting down. Was he going there to collect protection money? No, this was Tundratown, way out of Growl Street territory. They were walking on thin ice as they were; they wouldn't have dared cause trouble in other neighbourhoods.

Nick saw through the condensed window that Zack had calmly picked a rose bouquet and the exchange between him and the arctic hare salesmammal was more than cordial. They even seemed to know each other. The hare got up on the counter to be able to reach the wolf's shoulder as if to comfort him about something, but Zack simply gave a fake smile and waved him off.

Was he going to see his girlfriend or something?

"Couldn't help yourself, huh?" came a familiar, disapproving voice from behind the fox. Sure enough, it was Judy, dressed up in a silky blue sweater and jeans. She was looking disapprovingly at her fox, thumping her foot at her lover's inability to trust someone who had put their safety on the line to help a righteous cause.

"You could have driven us to Harry to have him share some info with us. You could have called Zack to set up a meeting beforehand. You could have called HQ to request all the files we have on Growl Street, yet you decide to tail this poor kid to-" Judy stopped right there, her eyes downcast.

Nick's brow furrowed. One moment, she was all thumping paws and narrow glares, and now her ears had drooped as much as her eyes.

"Don't you get it, Nick? He's going to his mother," whispered Judy. His mother? But from what Nick understood, Zack's mother was dead.

It was then that it all finally clicked for the fox. Zack's posture was one of a mammal sent to hang, the way he waited outside the flower shop as he rubbed at his eyes, the way the arctic hare tried to comfort the wolf, it all told of one fact:

He was going to his mother's grave.

"Nick, there's, there's something about Zack. You're better at reading mammals than I am, Nick - have you not seen just how _broken_ he is? He lost everything! And he holds himself responsible! He has no one left except those scumbags from the gang! He has lost hold of _everything_ good from his life and he knows it!" Judy said firmly as she glared up at her partner.

Nick glanced to where the wolf was going. He was walking along a main street that he knew connected to the place where Clawhan's wife was buried. Tundratown cemetery.

Nick felt sick to his stomach as he realized what this kid had been through.

"I, I should go to him," said Nick. Judy looked up at him, flabbergasted. "Judy, he needs to know that there's still something worth living for. You said it yourself, Carrots: he feels responsible for all that went wrong in his life and thinks of himself as a monster. When he barely responded when I threatened him, I realized that he thinks he is deserving of anything that I might throw at him. He thinks that this is him. I have given him nothing but doubt so far. It's about time I gave him the benefit of the doubt," Nick said sincerely.

The two partners walked through the giant frozen stone gates guarded by two ebony black gargoyle statues.

The white-blue glow of the snow shone around the gravestones. This, combined with the chill, created a somber, but not oppressive atmosphere.

There was something strangely beautiful about the way the snow and the ice naturally formed around the stones of all ages and sizes. Several of the grander gravestones had small pictures of smiling arctic mammals smiling near friends and family, the snow and ice hugging the stone.

They were truly frozen in time. If this was intentional, then the architect of the cemetery was a genius. It was beautiful in its own way.

Zack kept on walking with the bouquet in his paws, his dark leather jacket and dark fur helping him stand out from the blinding white of everything else. He eventually stopped at a modest, yet relatively new dark marble tombstone.

Even from the distance, the couple was able to see the wolf gasping for air and turning around for a moment as if he wanted to leave, as if whoever was over there hated and shunned him. However, this had lasted for only a second as he turned around, inching his way closer and closer to the plain black tombstone. He carefully placed the bouquet on the stone itself and held his paw over there.

"H-Happy Birthday, Mom," the keen ears of the two lovers picked up. He then got down on his knees and began sobbing softly as he held onto the tombstone, muttering something incomprehensible.

Nick watched the poor kid silently wail in front of his mother's grave. The fox knew that Zack had gotten into the gang as a desperate, last-ditch attempt to raise money for her expensive cancer treatment.

Yet it ended up killing her.

Nick's jaw was clenched shut, and his eyes darkened as he watched. This was a mask, just like the one he had used before he had met his bunny, Judy thought. No, it wasn't _just like_ that one. _That_ mask was meant to cover all his suffering with the illusion of happiness.

 _This_ mask was meant to mask his feelings toward someone else's suffering.

And as usual, Judy could see right through it.

"Let's go, Fluff. We'll talk to him later," Nick said, grabbing Judy's arm and leaving the sobbing wolf to himself.

* * *

Two hours later, Nick and Judy found themselves inside of a run-down apartment building. They had moved as quickly as possible, and Nick had led Judy through numerous back-alleys to avoid being spotted by anyone.

There were hardly any tenants, except for the cockroaches which went under doors at regular intervals.

The vacancy was good as Judy didn't feel like encountering any occupants of this damned neighbourhood. Not to mention that the faces of the ZPD being spotted in that place would have completely compromised the operation.

They sat down on the stone-cold, rusted radiator that looked like it hadn't been turned on for at least a decade.

All of the lights were either burned out or smashed, and black-green mould firmly controlled of the walls, its corruption spreading like a cancer throughout the entire building.

The smell of old liquor, mould, drugs, and rot hung in the air like a timeless reminder of where they were. Thankfully, the hallway was aired out by a broken window.

Judy began to feel more appreciative of her former hole-in-the-wall apartment more and more as the unbearable seconds of being trapped in there ticked by. She understood why Zack had asked them to come here, but sweet cheese and crackers!

Nick's expression hadn't changed ever since they had left the graveyard, and she knew exactly what he was thinking about.

The bunny snuggled up against his long, lean form, rubbing her head against his chest the way she knew would comfort him. Nick's reaction was instantaneous, wrapping his paws around his little bunny and cradling her to provide warmth.

And just like that, the smile was back.

The repulsive scenery disappeared for both mammals as they held each other for warmth and comfort.

"The stuff you have to do for informants, huh, Slick?" murmured Judy into his chest fur, humming in delight with the way her partner gently massaged the base of her ears with his padded paws.

"It's not so bad. At least it's _inside_. I've seen worse places," said Nick, chuckling while still being serious He gently kissed the space in between his lover's ears.

"Hi, Officers," came the same voice from a few hours ago. It was Zack, arriving just on time.

He looked different. His shoulders were slumped, and his eyes were downcast, making the wolf look like even more of a wreck than when they had first seen him. His eyes were red and swollen, the fur beneath his eyes matted - telltale signs that he had been crying heavily.

"Let's go. The room is this way," said the dark-furred wolf before either of the two cops could say a word.

He led them through the half-collapsed apartment complex until he reached a slightly newer door and unlocked it.

"I rented this for twenty bucks a week a few days ago," he explained, leading them into the room. The only thing that the old room had was a table with three chairs. The window was boarded, but Nick and Judy could see that the boards were new signalling that Zack had boarded it up himself to prevent the gang from watching them.

"Smart," said Nick, but he was quickly shushed by the wolf, who pulled a small device out of his pocket. Upon pressing a button, it beeped sporadically, as if it was scanning for something.

"Alright, we're good," he said, exhaling in relief as he pulled two chairs for the cops.

"Detective Clawhan gave me this. It scans for hidden bugs and cameras. We're in the clear," Zack said as he took a seat.

He exhaled once again, looking at the old table, yet at nothing in particular at the same time.

"So, what do you want to hear about?" asked the wolf, not moving his gaze.

Judy opened her mouth to speak, but Nick raised his paw to silence her. Before this young wolf helped them, _he wanted to help him._

"So, you said your mother passed?" asked Nick, wincing at just how blunt he had sounded.

The wolf's gaze remained unchanged, though he blinked several times.

"Y-Yeah, Officer. But I assure you that it has nothing to do with what I'm doing right now," he answered casually.

The fox was impressed with the young snitch's ability to control his emotions. Aside from a faint, almost unhearable stutter at the beginning, there was no sign in his voice that this very subject was the reason he was as emotionally wrecked as he was.

"Well? Are you gonna have me wear a wire or something?" asked Zack stoically.

"Zack, your emotional and mental condition is vital to this operation. We read your file," stated Nick.

The wolf looked downwards for a moment before dry-swallowing. He was trying to hide his eyes as much as possible, but neither cop had any trouble reading him.

"Did it say there that she died because of me?" he asked rhetorically.

"The docs said that stress made the cancer worse. A few weeks before she passed she, she found out. But I couldn't leave the gang. Every day I went out that door, I knew that it was killing her, but," the young wolf stopped to choke back a sob as he rubbed his eyes and looked the other way from the two mammals.

"I, I put me and her above every other mammal in the world. I just thought to save her, everyone else be damned. And later on, I did it only for me. I, I liked it," he said with disgust.

"As much as I tried to deny it, as much as I shunned my 'colleagues,' I stuck by them. I extorted and hurt innocent mammals just because a psychopath pointed the finger at them. And for what?" he asked, seeming to become angry with himself.

"Zack, stop it! You are not to blame for anything!" stated Judy firmly, trying to place her paw on the kid's forearm, her much more compassionate personality being able to comfort the wolf better than Nick.

The wolf stood up violently, nearly making his chair fall down. Both fox and bunny flinched, not expecting such an aggressive reaction. The wolf's eyes became bloodshot, his paws clenched and his breathing heavy and hitched.

Nick's paw went to his taser in his back pocket, ready to draw the weapon. Judy simply stood on her chair, mouth agape at how quickly the youngster's attitude had turned.

"Really!? I'm not to blame? _I_ joined the gang! _I_ kept on going, despite the fact that I knew deep down what they truly were! And when I finally found out, I wasn't even surprised! And then, when I found out there was no getting out, I didn't feel panicked! I didn't feel like I had just shaken hands with the devil! Why? Because I was - _am_ a bastard! I could have just taken a few more hard-working jobs and scraped by, but no! I _had_ to pick the easy way!" he ranted, tears streaming out of his now red eyes.

"You know what I was doing while my mother was dying!? Huh? I was high in a ditch! I was getting high with gangbanging scumbags after I had beaten the shit out of an innocent rabbit for not paying the boss! That's me! That's who I chose to become! She didn't want _anything_ to do with me after she found out, and can you blame her!?" he continued screaming.

"I threw my past, present, and future into the toilet for the life of a criminal! All the stuff I was repeating in my head that 'I was doing it for her', 'I don't agree with what I'm doing' was nothing but a bunch of bullshit!" All the pent up self-hate and grief that had accumulated over the past few months had come out. He hadn't confided to anyone thus far, the boiling emotions having grown poisonous to him.

"I became a thug, a selfish piece of shit who hurt other mammals for scraps of cash, and I did _nothing_ to change that!" Zack finished, breathing heavily his chest rose and fell shakily as he desperately tried to hide his tears from the two mammals, as if that would have changed anything.

"But you have," suddenly came Judy's soothing voice, breaking the train of thought of the two canines. "You came ahead and chose to help us. You chose to _do something_ to change what you did wrong. And you got into that world, not because you liked it, but because back then, you thought that there was no other alternative. You made mistakes, Zacharias. But you chose to confront them. The simple fact that you recognize what you did wrong, and the fact that now you're risking your life to right your wrongs, proves that you're so much more. You are a good mammal in a bad situation. Nothing more," said Judy with the soothing voice that the wolf hadn't heard for months.

No one had talked to him like that since _Mom._

Sure, Harry Clawhan had tried to get him to confide, but the panther's stone-cold attitude hadn't managed to do that.

But this little bunny, bless her soul, had done just that.

Zack covered his face with his paws and poured out months' worth of grief and self-hatred. All the pent-up rage, grief, doubt, apathy, good, and evil - it all came out as he confided in to two strangers.

As the fox and the bunny whispered soothing words and rubbed his shoulders in an effort to get him to relax, he finally felt _free._

He finally felt as if things could get back to the way they were once-upon-a-time. He would destroy the gang, make them pay for what they had done to him and countless other innocent mammals.

 _He felt as if his mother would have been proud of him._

He wanted to continue crying and sobbing into the two strangers' arms, but he didn't want to completely drain himself.

He wanted to _get it done._

"That's enough, Officers. Thank you," the wolf said eventually. Judy beamed up at the former thug, and even the fox had an approving smile.

They had brought his life back.

"Now," he began, his teary voice now much thicker, and his bloodshot eyes filling with a determination he hadn't felt in nearly a year.

He took out a stack of papers. Plans, maps, conversation transcripts, even a few photos.

"Let's get down to business," he snarled. Time to end this madness... What better way to leave hell than to destroy it?

* * *

The overhead light swung on the ceiling, creating an ear-piercing sound. It wasn't much, but as someone with sensitive hearing, having to listen to it over and over again made the middle-aged rabbit buck's head swoon.

If only he could open his eyes, but they burst with pain every time he tried moving his eyelids. Now that he thought about it, so did the rest of his slashed and battered body. His paws were cuffed to two rusty, but thick and solid pipes in such a manner that it was impossible for him to relax as it strained his muscles without respite. Yet despite this, he was grateful for the pause in what Carnivore had been doing to.

An excruciating white-hot pain erupted in his abdomen, feeling the way his flesh was rubbed against his ribs. The brown hare used what little energy he had left to produce a pathetically weak scream.

His senses were once again filled with fear and panic as he heard the giant wolf snarling and roaring in his face. It didn't help with anything except that he began squirming uselessly against his shackles, the most ancient and primal parts of his prey brain demanding him to run away from the predator. Having no means to do so kept him, his mind, and his subconsciousness in a cruel, inescapable hell.

His eyes opened without his consent, and he defeated his own instincts by glaring up at the tall wolf. Carnivore's face was completely unreadable, his strange red eyes twinkling with… actually the buck wasn't even sure _what_ the light in those eyes was supposed to mean. But the rabbit was sure he wouldn't like it.

"Listen, you bastard. If you're gonna kill me, then just fucking do it already, because I won't give you the pleasure of begging for my life," the buck spat, snarling as harshly as his genes would allow him.

The simple sentence had made the rabbit cough uncontrollably, spitting blood at the wolf's feet. The fact that he had been a heavy smoker for twenty years didn't help either.

Carnivore's face continued to be completely stoic, which was far more terrifying than if it had been snarling and raging like a predator of the stone age.

"No," said the wolf simply. Those two simple letters carved a path of ice down the buck's spine.

"You see, Mr. Bucksworth, it is not as simple as you 'not paying taxes'. It's the fact that you do not respect us," said the wolf, his blood-stained claws flashing for a moment in front of the rabbit. He flinched away, squeezing his eyes shut. One of the thugs that was guarding the room barked out a laugh at the rabbit's natural, inescapable cowardice. Even those thugs looked different than the rest. Their eyes were _colder._ They wore themselves with more pride and they showed no signs of drug addiction. They held their UZIs much more professionally, barrel pointed to the ground, butt close to the chest, finger off the trigger.

They seemed completely and utterly devoted to protecting their master, and doing it better than any average goon. They also looked simply _different_ from any other wolves - or preds for that matter - that the rabbit had ever seen. Their dead glares looked almost like the deathly stares of the predators of the stone age, ready to kill and feast on prey.

"You are a history teacher, Mr. Bucksworth. Therefore, I expect you to understand my motivation better than most, even if you see everything through the rose-tinted glasses of prey," said Carnivore, leaning forward toward the buck, his fangs mere inches away from his throat. Try as he might, Bucksworth couldn't help but back up against the cold, mouldy wall as if it would help him escape. His heart and lungs worked in overdrive despite the battered state of his frail body.

"W-what motivation? You're a two-bit scumbag who doesn't care about the lives of anyone. You'll dos anything you can to fill up your coffers while sacrificing innocent youths to die or rot in jail for your own benefits!" the teacher managed to say despite how scared he was. He had always been a strong-willed mammal, but he was actually quite proud of himself of how he had managed to control himself.

The wolf didn't even blink at his prey's barrage of insults. The mere fact that his expression remained unchanged frightened the bunny more than any roar or snarl the wolf could have thrown at him.

"No, Mr. Bucksworth. What I do is rooted in what _all of you_ did to _us._ Long ago and now as well," said Carnivore, maintaining his same unreadable face, but the buck could sense an undertone of anger in his voice.

And it terrified him.

"When the so-called 'Great Peace' came - together with the formation of Zootopia - we predators were the ones who extended the olive branch. We were the ones who saw, _or thought_ , that you were just like us. That you were worthy of not being mere _prey._ We denied Mother Nature's call, we denied our instincts, we denied our destiny, our pack, our very identity, all for _your_ sake," the gang leader continued, his voice becoming more and more angry, his face joining in with a terrifying snarl.

The buck could see where the wolf was going.

"And how did the fair and gentle prey treat the benevolent predators? The very predators who denied their superiority, their labourers, and main food source and instead saw you as _brothers?_ " spat the wolf, his anger becoming more and more apparent. The claws and fangs that were stained with the buck's blood shone in the dim light, causing the formerly strong and steadfast buck to yelp in fear and close his eyes as he pressed himself against the wall. "You subjugated us! From the beginning of history to now, there are laws about how sharp our claws are allowed to be, about how much more ' _privileged'_ a predator is to keep you thinking that you're still the underdog. It's all just an endless cycle to fuel the hatred that you pieces of meat feel toward your overlords! You need to keep feeling and fuelling that hatred, because you all know that we are superior. That we could take our throne back whenever we wanted. That we could maim and kill each and every one of you at a moment's notice.

The only predators who had the guts to stand up to you were the Pred Axis! But guess what? Traitorous predators joined the Zootopia Allied Forces! They fought side by side with prey, their oppressors, to kill their own predator brothers! To put the ball and chain around their own ankles for the sake of prey!" ranted the cult leader, the two guards beginning to cheer for him while still remaining at their posts.

The buck remained motionless, his ears folded over his eyes, buckteeth grinding and whimpering constantly, the very image of lapin panic.

The very image of _prey panicking._

He almost wished that the wolf would swing a killing slice just so that the terror would end. So that his brain and soul could stop being trapped in this hell. His slashed and battered body almost disappeared from the equation as it barely even added to the immense suffering that the psychological torture from the sadistic predator inflicted upon him.

"You know, I have proof that biologically, predators are still meant to _use_ prey. Ever since I made _the switch_ \- whenever I eat the disgusting protein meals that you prey shoved down our throats - I spit it out. Even chicken doesn't have the same taste it once had. Those two guards and my closest acolytes are examples as well. We cannot eat anything else now, because our own bodies are now aware of what Nature wishes for us," the wolf preached.

The buck dared to open his eyes and look up at his gigantic captor once again. The wolf now housed a sadistic smile of satisfaction on his muzzle, and his two bodyguards joined his side with an identical expression.

"W-What are you talking about?" asked the teacher, though his brilliant mind had already found the answer; he simply couldn't accept it.

Surely, not even this killer would stoop down to such a level.

Another surge of white-hot pain exploded in his chest as the wolf carved him with his nature-granted weapons. Only that this time, it was different.

It was… no.

"Today, you get to experience what it truly means to be prey," the wolf said, his red eyes twinkling with pure evil. Bucksworth couldn't even scream as the wolves descended into their ancestor's footsteps.


	12. Chapter 10- Predator And Prey

**_Right... I know, I know... haven't published for months. University. And unfortunately, I will most likely be unable to continue writing at a regular pace, due to me preparing for my future taking precedence over my hobbies._**

He allowed the classical music to calm him and the perfectly set humidity and temperature to relax his Savannah pelt. He stared at the strange modern art piece that was in front of him. His hooves had to have left some sort of mark on the pristine carpet from how long he had been sitting in place motionless. The canvas amounted to a few differing shades of red on a grey background. As was common with modern paintings, it lacked any kind of frame. The red took all sorts of shapes from triangles, to squares, to simple, bloodspot-like circles, taking over the grey background.

All the other visitors of the gallery went about their business. The few that ventured to look at the peculiar red and grey painting didn't stay much due to the well-dressed zebra with a claw scar over his right eye staring at the piece of canvas as if it was some sort of mystery he was trying to untangle.

The gallery presenter, a zebra mare wearing a strikingly red dress, smiled as she approached the male. Despite not being very tall for his species, the way he stood straight, his expensive dark suit, his relaxed, yet straight and wide shoulders, his perfectly groomed hide and his expressionless, harsh dark eyes with a claw scar over one of them completed the portrait of an unwavering, powerful male.

She saw that many of the other clients were looking with slight fright at him, even a bear deciding to admire another painting as he saw who was eyeing the red and grey shapes on a canvas. However, there was something about him which drew her toward him. More than likely, it was the exact thing which turned away all the patrons away from him: the danger.

The mare had dated a couple of preds in her college years, something which she preferred to keep a secret.

He had a cold stare in his dark eyes that she had rarely seen even a predator have. A steely, deadly determination that transmitted to anyone that he wasn't willing to let anyone or anything get in his way, managing to do so even while doing something as simple as admiring a painting. Or was he even admiring it?

He was simply looking.

Yet he had _looked_ for quite a long time. And judging by his suit, he had enough cash to buy out the entire gallery ten times over.

She approached him from behind. Although he didn't even blink, she knew that he had sensed her. Somehow, he transmitted that.

She suppressed what little emotion she had as she smiled and went straight aside him. This time, he gave her a sideways glance, yet not one lacking interest.

"You know, a lot of people ask," she began.

"How can we charge so much for what at the end of the day amounts to simply different shapes of colours arranged seemingly at random. That modern art is garbage," she continued in a slow, deliberate, almost professional tone which failed to mask her interest for the handsome, dangerous male.

"Yet, I always reply that it is not the image itself, not the artist, not even the skill required which matters in a painting." She smiled wider as the man turned completely from the painting toward her, his face just as unrecognizable.

"It's how it makes you feel that matters." She finished, gesturing her hooves toward the painting. While it didn't depict anything in particular, many people seeing it said that it made them feel a slight sense of unease, anger or even excitement. It was most likely the association of red and darker colours with the impure or the violent, or the way some of the shapes of red seemed to quite vividly resemble blood splatters.

"It's called 'Oppression'. Just that." The mare shrugged chuckling.

"Gotta love these modern artists. They work weeks and months on end to create something that only they can understand fully, and everyone else understands whatever the heck they want. And yet when they have to call it something. It's always some cliché." She finished.

"How does it make _you_ feel? Most mammals coming here say it makes them feel uneasy." she said with a snort, rolling her eyes. It was obvious she disagreed with her patrons.

The male stared at the painting a bit more, analysing the splashes of red against the grey.

Looking at the painting, the male's scar seemed to twitch as he examined the coloured shapes more closely. No, the title was not at random. There were a few places in which the red was far less numerous than the dark shades of grey, yet the red shapes seemed to have ramifications leading into the large grey blobs, the ramifications eventually meeting to create a large, blood splatter like, red shape.

The red was less numerous, but it was able to enter the grey and kill it from the inside. Oppress it. His jaw twitched.

"Are you OK, sir?" the mare asked, looking into his twitching dark eyes.

"Yes. Sorry. I'll take it." He said, quickly smiling toward the mare. He only noticed now how beautiful she was. Her eyes were dark, like his, but she wore it differently. While his eyes struck fear into the hearts of anyone who dared cross him, she was able to even set him at ease. The realization that what he was fighting against was shown on that very painting was put in check.

The gallery presenter smiled and stamped a red "SOLD" sticker next to the painting.

"My associate will pay." He said stoically.

"Well, enjoy your purchase. Mister…?" She asked smiling.

"Uhm, Stripes. Sebastian Stripes." He said. Why had he hesitated?

Before he could think, the female's melodic chuckle pierced his thoughts. His chest tightened momentarily with an unfamiliar feeling as he watched her regain her composure.

She glanced at the grand clock hung up above a broad painting that wasn't even for sale. Despite it being a much more traditional painting, even having a wooden carved Victorian frame, it didn't seem to clash with the modern art gallery in the slightest. The grand clock read 8 PM sharp.

"Well, I guess it's time for me to close up." She said.

"My name is Irene, by the way." She said smiling. Before he could act, Sebastian found himself shaking her hoof with more tenderness than he had given anyone since he was in high school.

He also realized just now that he had given her his _real name_ , yet for some reason he couldn't bring himself to view that as a mistake. He wasn't even worried in the slightest.

Well, maybe a little bit of companionship would serve him well. He seldom confided in to everyone except for Wesley, his stallion confidant. Maybe a female such as herself could prove to be a valuable asset later on.

"I was wondering if you would like to share dinner with me." Sebastian said quickly before he even fully considered the extent of what he was about to say. However, as usual, he felt sure of himself, despite not having considered the extent of what would follow.

The mare simply smiled up at her new client , drawing slightly closer to him. Eventually, her muzzle was mere inches away from his ear.

"I quite like Italian." She whispered.

Sebastian felt a wave of joy not felt before wash over him

"We agree on more than art!" he chuckled.

"Yes, Zack, sure, take the day off, my boy. I'll have a job for you tomorrow." Spoke Carnivore into the phone just as his second-in-command and quartermaster, Gage knocked on the door and entered the gang leader's luxurious room.

Gage was a dark orange timber wolf, his fur looking almost grey in the right light. He was twirling his ever-present cheap cigarette in between his lips as he entered his boss's and friend's room.

Gage had had a long history in the criminal underworld as a gunrunner, his time in the military netting him plenty of contacts to get top-of-the-line equipment for all sorts of scum throughout the city, fueling gang wars, assassinations and bank robbers.

He was the reason Carnivore's gang had silenced weapons, sniper rifles and submachine guns, all stockpiled, maintained and ready to use. While the majority of his gang were young junkies who could somewhat hold his own in a fistfight and sling drugs, but were somewhat dull-witted, his inner circle grew each week. Every week, he would select a few members who had proven themselves to be a cut above the rest when it came to loyalty and ability to commit whatever orders he may have, and they made the most of their equipment.

And most importantly, Gage had the loyalty and determination to his cause to get his kind back at the top of the food-chain, to break free of the chains of prey, to be proud of their nature-granted weapons that could end any prey's life in seconds.

"Hey, boss." said Gage casually as he puffed out a cloud of bluish smoke, scattering a few ashes into Carnivore's ashtray as he sat down on a chair opposite the desk.

The gang leader smiled as he saw his friend and instantly excused himself and hung up on Zack quickly, not noticing that the youngster breathed a sigh of relief as he dismissed him.

The coal-furred wolf smiled at Gage, a genuine smile, not the one he always used to terrify prey into submission just before he fulfilled his primal desires granted to him by nature. He poured the ex-soldier three fingers of bourbon without asking him, knowing that this was his friend's customary drink whenever they had short meetings, and especially when he had a cigarette to pair it with.

Gage nodded and drank half of the pint-sized glass just before he took another long drag of his half-spent cigarette.

"So what's the deal now, Carl? You need my contact to get us a few extra guns?" asked Gage, using his boss's real name.

"No, brother. You know Zack, right?" asked Carnivore rhetorically. He knew Gage's clockwork mind was the sharpest in the criminal underworld. He had a computer-like memory of every single member and gun in the gang, where they are, what they did, and whether or not they were a liability.

"Sure. The kid who offed the ram trainer a couple of months back." he answered nonchalantly.

"I think he still has the silenced USP 45. I gave him back then, but he hasn't used it since. Vilkas said he had been keeping it locked in his nightstand ever since he blew that bastard's brains out." Gage said quickly and stoically, recalling every last important detail about one of their newest members.

"Yes, Gage. You see, I know I usually don't let anyone who has served less than two years enter our ranks within the True Pack, yet for him I will make an exception. He has proven to be a true predator, ready to remove the ruling prey and stand by our side for justice. To put prey back in their place. He is ready for the Initiation into our inner circle." said Carl Carnivore, pouring himself a glass of bourbon.

Gage broke his mask of non-emotion and raised an eyebrow.

"Boss, I don't doubt the kid's combat abilities, he's a damn good fighter and he's brave. But have you actually looked at him while you were giving your lectures on how prey have been oppressing us and how we need to get ourselves back on top of the food chain? His eyes are glassy and downcast, his ears down while all of his homies cheer and add their own opinions. That doesn't seem like someone who's ready to join The Pack." analysed Gage.

At this, Carnivore frowned at his friend, a rare thing for him. However, his blood-red eyes failed to faze his friend, Gage being the only mammal who didn't even blink at the predator's blood-fueled gaze.

"You think I haven't noticed that, Gabriel?" said Carnivore lowly.

"You are as observant as ever, yet I think you drew the wrong deduction. You see, he is not like the other boys there. He doesn't know the full extent at which prey have imposed their restrictions on the very essence of what it is to be a predator. He is analysing what I am preaching, while the rest are merely hearing what they already knew. And let me tell you, the meeting with Dodge Woolerston has shaken any doubt he may have had of what wolves and predators are truly supposed to be. When he fought that prey, something happened in his brain. It happened to me, it happened to you, it happened to everyone fortunate enough to have slain a meek prey oppressor today. It's a chemical reaction in which our ancestral memory is returned to us, the instinct of the pack and the hunt given back. I am writing on it." Carnivore said, lifting up a manuscript, his own writings on pred supremacy, which he planned to publish " _once the Revolution was over"_.

Gage opened his mouth to say something else, yet closed it back up. He knew that his friend's stubbornness would keep this debate exactly where it was. But that didn't mean he wouldn't offer advice.

"Alright, boss. But please remember this: his mom's death has left him shaken. If I were you, I'd be extra careful with how I'd show him our... _other rooms._ He might panic and it might be the last straw for him. It would be a shame to have to off him." said Gage.

Carnivore pressed his paws together as he narrowed his eyes in deep thought. Zack had proven himself to be a remarkable asset, loyal and dedicated to the job at paw, yet he still was very green in many ways. But then again, Carnivore's gut feeling had never betrayed him, and he had a damned good feeling about the young former kickboxer.

"Leave that to me, Gage. Have you ever known me to be wrong?" said Carl smugly.

Gage shrugged as he snorted with laughter.

"True, but I still saved your ass a dozen times." said the weapon dealer even smugger, but with a friendly tone.

Carnivore snorted himself, his friend's banter always getting through his stone-cold mask which he reserved for everyone else.

"Right, boss, I'll get back to my duties. Gotta check out a new shipment of MP5s I got from Hoxton. It's due for delivery in a few hours in the sewers." said Gage, getting up.

"Hold on." said Carnivore, causing the veteran to turn around. Gage finished off his cigarette and crushed it into Carl's ashtray.

"I need you to cut a deal with someone," the red-eyed wolf said, his snout churning in disgust as he said this. Gage was able to pick up subtle visual cues. The way his eyes narrowed like he saw him do only when dealing with smug, condescending prey whom he was forced to tolerate for the sake of a deal. No way the "deal" was to be made with Mr. Big. Carnivore respected the shrew and his small army of polar bears, despite them not being nearly as focused on bringing predators back on their deserved spot.

No, this was something he was forced to tolerate.

"Remember that zebra?" asked the gang leader with the disgust which was accompanied whenever he recalled that rich prick prey.

Gage himself, as stoic as he was, couldn't suppress a grimace as he recalled the bastard.

"How could I forget," the veteran mumbled.

Gage remembered how he prayed that his boss would just claw the bastard's throat out and serve him up like any other disrespecting pray. But that scum made him sick as it was without eating him.

The zebra had offered half a million dollars just for them to clear out a warehouse for a day. Who the hell does that? Carnivore had tried sending spies out, but the bastard had placed horses, rams, bulls and other prey bruisers-for-hire on all surrounding buildings. And their deal clearly stated that the zebra had access to the entire block and could do as he pleased for a day.

When Carnivore heard the sirens around the warehouse, he had thought that the prey bastard had sold him out and was ready to run for his contact to get a new identity and flee Zootopia.

However, the cops all left almost as soon as they came. Whoever the zebra was, he had friends in high places. None of Carnivore's contacts within the ZPD had said anything when he questioned them about what had happened there, no matter how much money he threatened to pull from their "retirement fund".

"You are a mammal of war, Gage. But you are also far more diplomatic than me or anyone else here. If there is anyone who can get that stuck-up grass-muncher to strike another deal with us, it's you. His payment to us gave me enough money to become a full time partner with Mr. Big and get more contacts within the police. And I know his type: they act smart to throw you off, but they have nothing to back it up. He is some pencil-pusher who learned how to glare. I can get him scared into becoming a full-time partner with us. Imagine getting paid half a million each week and having the connections that he does. We'd have the city within a year! And then the first steps to putting filthy prey back into their place will be achievable," analysed Carnivore.

Gage considered his friend's words carefully. He had seldom known his boss to be wrong in his judge of character, but that damn zebra gave him chills. And he knew how to spot a fake glare.

But then again, Gage knew how to get under someone's fur. He could intimidate someone into doing the gang's bidding without them even knowing it. Interrogating enemy spies in the military had granted him that. He had even been chosen for some Black Ops thanks to his talent of "persuasion".

"Alright, boss. If he's still in town, I'll find him." he said calmly, gulping down the rest of his drink.

He shook paws warmly with Carnivore and he motioned to the guards at the door to follow him. The large veteran members did so without question, each checking the weapons beneath their heavy coats.

He pulled out his phone as he exited the derelict building. He sent a text with machine-like efficiency to informants from various other gangs, stalking the streets of Zootopia as ordinary citizens, waiting for a job to pop up.

" _ **This guy. 10K for location"**_ the text simply read, with a picture of the zebra which Gage had taken of him without anyone noticing. He had taken it as soon as he saw the male enter their headquarters months ago. He always did so.

He entered his expensive sports sedan, the two bodyguards going in the backseat. Gage's keen instinct and deduction had already narrowed down where the zebra was.

If he was still in Zootopia, no way he was in the area of Rainforest district. He had overheard him commenting to his horse bodyguard about hating humidity and how he was grateful that he could chose where he lived.

He already set off in the direction of greater Zootopia.

Not surprisingly, his phone chirped soon enough. Gage smirked as he saw that it was one of the many informants he had sent the text to.

" _ **He's here. Send the dough."**_ read the text from one of Mr. Big's polar bears, alongside a hastily taken picture of the zebra alongside a rather gorgeous mare entering one of the many restaurants owned by the kingpin.

"Gotcha, fucker!" laughed out one of the two bodyguards from behind.

Gage lifted a paw to calm them both down just as he sent the fee to Mr. Big's polar bear through PawPal.

"Guys, remember, we're there to get him to work with us, not start a war with Mr. Big. If you wanna get rough with this prey and his broad to get him to cooperate with us, so be it, but do it once we're on our own turf." said Gage wisely, turning onto the road that led to Tundratown, the frozen domes visible in the distance.

Gage turned on the heater in anticipation for the stabbing cold that was sure to get even through his well-insulated luxury car.

-

The zebra sipped once at the wine, letting it swirl in his mouth for a second before swallowing slowly. The dry burn of the 30 year old Red went down his throat, ending with a pleasant warm tingle in his stomach.

"Yes, this one." he said to the polar bear waiter. The bear nodded and poured into the mare's glass and then filling up Stripes' own glass.

Normally, the zebra hated going into restaurants that also served predators. The smell of roast chicken and fish made his stomach churn and the sight of pieces of something which was once a living thing going into predators' maws made him want to end them right there and then. Yet the moment Irene proposed going to one of the restaurants owned by Mr. Big, he simply couldn't bring himself to say 'no'.

The polar bear bodyguards seemed to know her, and she was extremely casual and even cheery with them. If only she knew what those monsters were capable of…. But he was there for her. Wait, what?

"It's delicious. I've always preferred dries." she said chuckling melodically, causing the burn in his throat to be accompanied by another, equally pleasant warm tingle.

"It's one of my favourites. It's also Wesley's favourite. He's my associate." said the male, not mentioning how the black stallion was seated at a table away from them, pretending to be sipping a coffee and reading the evening paper.

"Hm. Guy has good tastes. You sure you won't let me date him afterwards?" she teased. The awkward silence was eventually broken as Sebastian forced a chuckle.

"Yes, I know, I know, it was a bad joke," she started.

"No, no," Sebastian began a bit too quickly.

"Yes it was. But a joke nonetheless." she chuckled.

The ordered mozzarella sticks and Savannah Herbivore Delight came and they both began to slowly eat, savouring the flavor which the talented chefs had blessed the dishes with.

Sebastian watched his date slowly eating the appetizer, washing it down with some more wine, a strange unfamiliar, yet pleasant feeling sinking into him as her face shifted slightly with pleasure and a barely audible hum of content reached his ears.

"Sooo you already know what I do for a living. It's only fair you also spill the beans." the mare said playfully.

Sebastian looked back at her, thinking of what he would say.

"I am in the business of... _rebuilding_. Changing. Renovating, you could say." he explained casually.

"Of taking things which seem beyond repair and turning them into something beautiful." he said, finding a far better description of his "job".

"Really? Sounds interesting. I suppose you don't limit yourself to just real estate, right?" the mare asked with a knowing smile.

Sebastian felt himself blush, something which he hadn't figured out that he was doing immediately, as he hadn't felt like that since he was a cub.

"You are quite perspective, Irene." he said with a short, sincere chuckle.

"Yes. I try to use my power to - I know it sounds cliche - to change the world. I believe I can build something out of it. I wish to sculpt something beautiful out of the block of wood our oppressors have been keeping." he began, his blood pressure suddenly rising as he was once again reminded what he was fighting for.

The mare snorted at his statement, but not maliciously so.

"If I had a zoobuck for every male I met who thought he could change the world. Listen, here's something I learned since I was a cub. The world is a stream. Always going in one direction, never stopping. Sometimes it's stormy. Sometimes there are boulders blocking the water. Sometimes there are savage crocodiles looking to devour anyone daring to cross it. You have to cross this water, but you can't change the tide or remove any of the obstacles. You just have to build your boat, load it with supplies and cross it." the mare said calmly as she swallowed down the last of her salad, washing it down with a gulp of wine.

The male was taken aback by her philosophy. He had never seen someone so quickly form a counter-argument to his own ideas. Now he was at ease, for he knew he wasn't just bitten by some idiotic, spur of the moment, love bug. His wits were still about him. She truly was something special.

"Forgive my saying so, but you seem to have quite a good opinion about yourself." she said, eyeing him knowingly.

He fiddled with his sleeves as he thought about her. Truly, he would finally have an asset that was on his level. Or perhaps something more?

"Those who have bloated opinions of themselves are called narcissists. They have nothing to hold onto, no family, no goals, no ambition, no energy. Nothing but the foolish thought that they are better than others. They repeat this lie to themselves to the grave, as a way of preventing themselves from falling into depression and madness. I am not that." he said lowly.

"Unlike them, I have done many things which I am proud of. I have goals not just for me, but for all mammal-kind. And that stream you talked about? Well, I can't stop it or change its course, but I can build a dam." he said, almost lecturing.

She eyed him, this time a little bit suspiciously. She seemed to be considering his words. Understandably so, as she had never heard anyone talk like this before.

"What are you, Sebastian?" she asked lowly, seriously and intimidating, yet his keen ears also captured a hint of fear. A hint of horror at what he might be. The thought of her finding out what he truly did before she had the power to comprehend that it was for the greater good horrified him.

However, he wanted to be completely honest to her.

"Well, I," he began, not even knowing himself what he was about to say.

"Please, gentlemen! The restaurant is booked up! And there is a dress code, you cannot enter dressed like this!" a sharp, angry Italian accent turned all the heads in the restaurant toward the entrance.

Sebastian turned even faster than the others. What he saw made his blood turn cold.

The second-in-command of that blasted wolf gang, together with two unwashed, flea-ridden thugs, calling at him.

He knew that getting together with preds, especially those who make up the dregs of society, would return to him someday.

For that he had been ready. He had perfected his hand-to-hand combat, had a state-of-the-art security system installed in his house which could withstand an army, held at least two different firearms in his car wherever he went, had Wesley and an army of mercenaries at a moment's notice to him with the push of a button on his PDA.

He was ready for an attack on his person of absolutely any kind. He could have held out against the ZPD or the Army for days, should the need have arisen.

What he was not ready for though, was the scum of the earth trying to get in contact with him, in a way which suggested almost as if he was with them on a regular basis, right when a mind and heart on his level was beginning to see the beauty on his new ideas for how to yank the world out of the cesspool it had dug itself into for centuries.

The mare's eyes widened as those punks futilely tried to wrestle with the bulk of the polar bear guards. Sebastian usually thought little of Mr. Big's thugs, as he did of any other meat-eaters, but this time, he was grateful for their presence.

However, those wolves were well-trained and powerful, and even Mr. Big's hulking predators were gritting their teeth as they kept hold of the prey-eating, cultist thugs.

"Sir! Our boss wishes to speak with you once again! He has a proposal which will benefit the both of us greatly!" Gage yelled over the polar bears who had piled up on him, a few of them drawing their massive guns on them, a gesture which didn't faze any of the wolf thugs in the slightest.

"We have to go! Now!" Sebastian yelled, getting up so quickly the chair went backwards and his knees hit the table. He grabbed the mare's forearm and pulled her away quickly from the commotion, ignoring the pleas for an explanation from the mare, the wonderful evening starting from her gaze toward him in an exclusive art gallery, continuing with a wonderful dinner, the savage polar bears blocked out by her melodic giggle, and her little 'mmms' of pleasure at every bite of the wonderful food, ended by tactless, predatory, carnivorous punks who hadn't evolved with a single cell since the Stone Age.

"Put them in a car!" he whispered harshly to Wesley, as he led a now very irate Irene through the back door, where he passingly told a waiter to put their meal on his account.

The deafening screeching of tires, honking and loud conversations replaced the mellow classical music and faint clinking of cutlery. It made his ears ring even harder than the rage which began to take over his person as he saw the mare glaring back at the door and then at him, silently asking him what business someone of his status had with the dregs of society, the scum of the earth.

With _cannibals._

He quickly hailed a cab and held the door for Irene, trying to salvage whatever he could from the trainwreck of a date which the carnivorous gang members had created.

But he'd get back at them.

Wesley knew very damn well how to persuade anyone to do anything. He'd put them in a car and drive them where they belonged.

Irene quickly told the hippo cab driver where she lived and the large mammal nodded, going along surprisingly quickly through the hellish traffic.

Both remained as silent as silent could be throughout the ride, and while the hippo kept an air of professionality and kept his mouth shut, he occasionally looked into the rear-view mirror back at the zebra couple.

He had driven countless couples like this throughout his career, back from a date gone sour. Judging by their outfits, they were both filthy rich, so he could only imagine what drove them to quickly hailing a regular cab off the street.

A tiny amount of rainfall began trickling down onto the windows, gone unnoticed by both passengers, both too far into their own thoughts to acknowledge anything from the outside world.

Irene tried to put two and two together. She was an excellent judge of character, far beyond mere "female's intuition", and this man seemed someone dogmatically determined to change the city and the world for the better, whatever that was in his mind. But those gangbangers barging in, beginning to talk to him as if he had been knowing them for years, and him, before that moment, an unyielding zebra man, the kind who would have kicked a pouncing lion into oblivion back in the days gone past. He was turned into a fearful, protective shadow, desperately trying to get her to safety, no doubt because he knew of how brutal those lowlifes could be.

Her instinct told her to get away from him, to leave him. He was far too dangerous. No matter how intelligent, brave, steadfast or noble he was, it was not worth the risk of meeting pred gang members on a regular basis.

The hippo arrived before either knew it, and Irene jumped out of the cab, going toward her apartment building at a heightened pace.

"Irene!" Sebastian yelled after her. He pulled two random banknotes out of his pocket and threw them at the driver, not even caring about the payment. Judging by the hippo's face, he had just received the tip of a lifetime.

He ran into the rain toward her, screaming her name. She stopped just before the gate to her rather imposing, luxurious apartment building. He could see even from behind that she was pursing her lips tightly, her hoof hovering above the door handle, not having the heart to just leave him out in the rain without as much as a goodbye.

"Irene, please, those were," he began.

"Savages." she replied without turning around.

"And you knew it. You dragged me away even as Big's goons were pinning those punks down." she explained calmly, despite the fact that the fire of rage and fear was blazing in her eyes.

"They're… they're a part of my life that is now over. I dealt with them in order to slowly destroy the likes of them. They don't even realize it." he bluffed.

"Well, clearly that ' _part of your life'_ is not over if they know your exact location and go in as casually as if it were their mother's place." she said dryly.

"They will not bother me again. I promise. I will make sure of that personally," he sneered, imagining the way he would be punishing those stone age oppressors.

He instantly regretted that move, as the mare's eyes widened as she watched him relishing in his dark fantasies.

"Please, Irene," he began, his face instantly softening without him even meaning it. Seeing the tiniest hint that she was calming down steadied his heart beat, despite the fact that she was still obviously suspicious of him.

"You have already deduced so much about me. No doubt you've also deduced that in everything that I am doing, I am only doing what's good for all mammal kind. You need to swim into the bowels of this city, literally and figuratively, in order to find it's heart, and change it's blackness into something beautiful for the entire organism." he said.

Irene sighed deeply and looked around, pondering her decision. She bit the polish on her upper hooves, looking when at Sebastian, when at the apartment building.

"I…" she began, almost as if she was sorry for her outburst earlier.

"I don't know, Sebastian. Like you said, I went out with you because I realized you want to do something for this world, and that there's something different about you. I'm not sure if it's such a good thing now." she said, this time less coldly.

"I - I know it went sideways at the end. But I enjoyed our night very much, Irene. If you don't feel the same, then," Sebastian tripped over his words and felt his throat going dry as he thought of that possibility. "Then you will never see me again." he finished, looking down on the pavement as a completely foreign feeling washed over his chest.

Irene seemed speechless for a moment. She opened her mouth for a second as if she wanted to say something, but closed it back up. Now she also glanced at the pavement, each mirroring each other, even though neither of them knew it, as they were too busy replacing the pavement in their eyes with visions of what had happened what might happen next.

Except that Sebastian's visions involved what he would do to a particular few wolves once Wesley brought them around.

"I - I don't know how I feel. Goodnight, Sebastian." she said, finally entering her apartment building, disappearing into the darkness before he could reply.

He saw a brief glimpse of her once again as the elevator doors opened to welcome her into the well-lit elevator, but closed once again as she went up.

He was left breathing heavily into the rain, the cold rain doing a poor job of cooling off his growing anger. The only thing which kept him from going into that accursed wolf-controlled neighbourhood himself and killing every single last one of them was the fact that he knew that Wesley would soon bring them where he wanted them to be.

The few passersby who went along in the rain picked up their pace as soon as they saw the expression of pure murder on the zebra's face, his scar seeming to flare up and open as he grimaced and clenched his hooves.

-

"Where is he gonna meet us?" asked Gage as Wesley continued driving through the rain.

The stallion remained silent as he turned the luxury SUV onto a side road.

"He believes that it would be best that we discussed the details of the continuation of our partnership in a more secluded spot." said Wesley, knowing that with Gage's already suspicious attitude, it wasn't a very good idea to continue driving him to an unknown location without as much as an explanation.

"Sounds reasonable." said one of the two wolf bodyguards, propping up his feet on the back of the expensive leather seat in front of him. Wesley barely managed to hold back a scowl at the thug's rude gesture.

He had already long deduced that all of them were armed. They had tried to hide the bumps in their jackets by wearing large overcoats and opting for compact UZIs, but small details like the way the jacket was weighed down in only one side, the constant touching of the noticeable bump in the jacket, and the fact that they were fearless about being driven to an unknown location by a stallion ten times their size all gave it away.

But the former Army Stallion, noticed something else. The way they concealed their weapons with great care, the even smaller bumps of the ammo clips revealed they were placed in a way that they were concealed, yet also extremely easy to reach, should the need arise.

Gage himself wore himself in an absolutely professional manner. Wesley, merely through the use of the rear-view mirror, noticed something on his belt. A harness. For a combat knife. The kind only a military man would have access to.

All of them were obviously skilled combatants. And with Gage's obviously military background, he could be their leader, organizing them in a way that they might become formidable foes.

Eventually, the SUV screeched to a halt. The powerful headlights remained the only source of lighting, showing a rusted-out warehouse, much like the one in their neighbourhood where they kept their drugs.

However, it had something different about it. The sign of whatever company who had owned this place was rusted out to the point where Gage couldn't read anything on it. A couple of mouse hobos scurried back into their holes as they saw the massive car pulling up, ironically the only creatures who had the bravery to hole out in a place like this were the smallest of Zootopia's inhabitants.

There were no trucks or cars outside the warehouse, and the brown cranes continued swinging lightly thanks to the wind, creating an ear-piercing squeaking noise.

The entire neighborhood was not abandoned, or run-down or poor, it was simply non-existent. It seemed absolutely unfathomable that any mammals ever lived here.

Suddenly, Wesley turned the engine off, killing the last source of light into this abyss of darkness. If it weren't for the wolves' night vision, they wouldn't have been able to see their own paws.

"I really hope we can put the past behind us." said Gage more to give comfort to himself than anything else. Never before had darkness disturbed him this much. He had been in pitch-black darkness against savage rebels during his time in the Army, he even got slashed and shot by things he hadn't even seen in the darkness, his own night-vision proving to be nothing compared to true darkness.

Wesley sighed deeply as he sat straighter up in his seat.

"The past," he whispered, the icy words carving a cold path down the wolves' spine. How could mere words have such an effect? Despite him barely whispering them, they seemed to echo.

"The past, Mr. Gabriel - many say it is etched in stone, unable to change," the stallion began, this time in a full voice, but no less disturbing.

"However, it is, but not in the way those mammals who say it think. You see, something etched in stone _can_ change. Storms and blights come over it and dim the message, the civilization who wrote it will store it away and replace it with another set of rules etched in stone. An invading army will come and may crumble that stone to pieces," the stallion continued to lecture, not once looking back at the wolves.

"But one thing which remains constant is that that writing _had_ been once etched in stone, and it will remain in mammals' minds and hearts, no matter what said invading army tries. It can alter it, twist it, but never eliminate it," finished Wesley, and the wolves could swear they could hear a low growl coming from the herbivore.

Gage felt his coat once again, as if to reassure himself that his UZI and his knife were where they were supposed to be. He could see that his two fellow gang members were doing the same, taking advantage of the non-existent light, knowing there was no way the herbivore could see them.

But he _could_ hear their coats getting ruffled, their breaths beginning to hitch, whispers to each other of what they'd do in case of something.

A faint beeping sound came from within the stallion's inside pocket. He picked up his smartphone, the faint glow from the screen offering a brief glimpse of light in this abyss, and answered it.

"Yes." he answered simply.

"They're here." he said after a short pause. That simple statement, undoubtedly to the Zebra, made the wolves' collective blood freeze.

"Of course." He said, finishing the call.

"Listen, you goddamn grass muncher," began Gage growling. His two companions nearly gasped in shock and tried to feel around him in the pitch darkness as if to pull him back from angering this towering behemoth of coldness.

Wesley didn't even blink as he continued looking at nothing in particular ahead of him.

"You better stop the 'cold-eye' treatment. I got it from pukes twice your size and twice your balls. So don't you think you can leave us with a half-assed deal because you know how to speak in parables and give us a stink eye!" Gage snarled, his snow-white fangs somehow managing to shine in the rear-view mirror despite the lack of light.

Wesley did what he had done before, and remained speechless.

"He's inside." the stallion said, ignoring the rant from his passenger.

"It's no worse than the building we had to stay while _you_ were the host." continued Wesley.

"Listen up! If I get the sense that you're trying to screw us over, you'll find out why your skin crawls every time you see claws!" snarled Gage once again.

"I'm convinced you'll do your best in that regard. Now please, don't keep him waiting. He's a rather busy mammal, and you also interrupted one of his more important meetings. I don't imagine he'll be very patient." he said almost boredly.

Gage sighed his anger out and took in one last deep breath in the already thin air of the luxury SUV.

"Let's go boys." he said. getting out and plopping on the ground. He instantly shivered from the cold, harsh rain whipping his face and he began rubbing his paws together, longing for the warmness of the SUV. His night vision allowed him to orient himself toward the abandoned warehouse.

The brown-rusted gates were widely opened and they entered without any welcome.

"I hope you guys all realized this is a trap." Gage said, pulling out his UZI and cocking it.

His companions instantly did the same, spreading out, kicking up decades worth of dust as they ran behind metal crates for cover.

Gage peeked out from behind his crate, searching for the Zebra, or whatever henchmen he had hired.

The warehouse had multiple rooms, most likely ones which had once served as offices. He struggled to see much ahead of himself. His night vision was helping, but it was almost as if the warehouse had been designed to allow as little star or moonlight inside.

Suddenly, all of their ears flared up as they heard something they only heard during their prey-punishing _rituals._

The sound of a machete being scraped against a wall.

" _You took her away from me,"_ they heard a voice echoing. It was quiet, yet furious, venom and bloodlust seeping off of every word.

They all began looking around for the source of the voice, but the snake-like tone changed location constantly.

" _You came in and took her away,"_ the voice continued.

Gage's heartbeat grew with every word he said and sweat began pouring off his brow. He showed his face, he'd turn the prey bastard into swiss cheese. Yes, it would be easy.

" _All your kind ever knew to do was maim and destroy… Everything we ever built, you destroyed. You use pathetic intimidation and violence to make up for your genetically inferior brains,"_ he continued, only now, it was heard from above.

Gage continued remaining into hiding. He knew that with his hearing and night vision, he and his homies had the upper paw, but he couldn't shake the feeling that the Zebra knew every single thing he had already thought of and was watching his every move.

Suddenly, he thought he heard a faint sound to the right. Only a minute later, one of the doors swung open. The wolf that was watching their back got snatched by a cruel, powerful hoof and dragged inside the room. A bloodcurdling scream and gunshots followed.

He and his remaining companion rushed to his aid, trying the door, but it was tightly locked. The screams from the once fearless wolf warrior continued to increase in intensity as sounds of dull blows on flesh continued to be heard.

Suddenly, a blade being drawn was heard. The screams became animalistic as wet slashes and grunts of anger were also heard. Their keen noses smelled blood being drawn.

Both wolves began discharging their submachine guns into the door, but the 9mm bullets only left dents on the massive steel door.

They then grabbed an oil barrel and began ramming it into the door, the screams not stopping for a second, carving their way into the wolves' skull and leaving a trail of ice down their spine. They managed to do nothing but cause a few sparks to fly.

"Come on, come on! We can't let him die!" shouted Gage, putting all his weight in the swing as he struck the door with the barrel.

A low chuckle from above caused them to drop the barrel.

" _Don't exert yourselves. I'll get the door for you,"_ said the voice of the Zebra once again.

The massive steel door slowly creeped itself open, most likely through some electrical mechanism.

The sight of their maimed friend greeted them as some of the lights flickered above. He had been gutted with a machete, his face contorted and stuck into the most distorted face of horror one could imagine. Ruby red blood coated the filthy and cracked, yet surprisingly snow-white walls, which were also covered in desperately-fired bullet holes.

" _I hope I managed to remind you of home - of a certain rabbit professor perhaps?"_ said the Zebra once again, the voice disappearing just as it had appeared. They couldn't even pin down his smell. Bastard was surely using some sort of scent-blocker.

Not that they could have smelled him in the overwhelming stench of the blood of their fallen comrade.

How did this bastard know of what they truly did? Of their plans? Well he knew one thing: this fucking zebra was going to die.

He outstretched his paw to his dead homie's eyelids and closed them.

"Rest now, brother. You shall be remembered when we finally take back the throne the prey have stolen from us," Gage whispered, almost like a prayer.

His remaining companion was hyperventilating, struggling to keep the SMG steady forward, the only direction the zebra could have came from. He struggled to keep the forming bitter bile in his throat.

The weapon was shaking insanely, making him unable to keep a steady aim. Like this, he had just as much chance of hitting Gage as he was the Zebra, should he appear in that moment.

Gage's heart drummed in his chest and his lungs stung from how much they were heaving, desperately trying to get as much oxygen as possible to his muscles.

Gage looked at his companion. The kid was not even 25 years old… the strength and vigor of youth was nothing compared to the atrocity he had just witnessed. Gage couldn't let him die - he could still be a true predator, and live to fight another day.

"You know what, Zebra?" Gage shouted. He removed the clip from his UZI and threw it aside. His young companion looked at him in shock as Gage continued to disassemble his gun, throwing the various pieces of it wherever they fell.

"Have it your way." sneered Gage, making sure to growl as well, the way only a true, _reformed_ predator could. The way the predators of the days gone past did as they gloriously used their superiority to feed themselves.

Gage pulled his military knife from his belt, taking a combat stance.

"Let my companion go." said Gage. "It's me you want," he said almost to himself.

"So come on! Stop hiding in the shadows like your ancestors! Come and fight me, but let him go free." yelled Gage.

" _Very well,"_ came the same echoing voice, from an unidentifiable source.

His partner didn't wait and he began running toward the exit. He was nearly back into the greater warehouse when another sickening slice pierced the air.

The wolf coughed and sputtered blood as the Zebra's blade pierced his stomach. This time, the bastard had finally showed himself and trapped himself in the same room with Gage. Or rather, trapped Gage in the same room with him.

"Yes. He's free now. Free from the wretched body of a bloodthirsty beast," chuckled Sebastian, approaching Gage slowly, stepping over the still coughing and begging wolf who had mere moments left to live.

Gage looked in shock at his partner as his paw was futilely trying to stop the bloodflow and his eyes were rolling up into his skull.

"Don't waste your air, Gage. Any lowly insult you may throw at me has already crossed my mind," said the Zebra stoically, walking slowly toward his _prey._

"At least your kind had the common sense to stay away from us back in the Stone Age,"growled Gage, growling, swelling his mane and baring his teeth as he prepared himself to re-enter the state of Savagery, as taught by Carnivore.

"Ah, you believe you can get inside my head - force my ancestral memory to recall what usually follows when I see predator acting like that?" Asked Sebastian.

The Zebra continued walking, each step his hoof took clinging on the metal floor, sending ripples of sickness through Gage's stomach.

"You're not the first pred-eater I encountered. This?" the Zebra pointed to his slashed eye.

"The tiger who did that is now a rug in my living room," said the Zebra, sending out a combination of a neigh and a bone-chilling chuckle.

Gage tried using his army breathing techniques to get his lungs as full as possible for the upcoming battle with the murderous prey who towered over him. But the striped bastard horrified him more than any other insane rebel he had ever encountered.

The light seemed to dim even further as the Zebra approached.

How the hell was he playing these mind games?

How the hell did he make his chuckle echo? Or was he even chuckling? He wasn't moving his lips. Was his mind playing tricks on him?

Suddenly, the zebra was a mere 2 feet away from him. When had he gotten this close?

The blade smiled at him sadistically as it moved toward him.

Gage's brain suddenly sprang into action as the air wooshed close to him. He jumped back and blocked the blow with his combat knife, sparks flying out of the blades. He grunted as he felt his knife nearly being forced out of his paw. The Zebra was far stronger than he looked.

Gage rolled below the Zebra's legs, trying for a slash on his thigh as he did so. His heart swelled with relief as he heard the prey grunt, a far weaker grunt than an injury from his knife would warrant.

However, his own grunt soon followed as he felt pain exploding in his side.

The Zebra had kicked him in the ribs as he was rolling, the bones taking the full brunt of the hoof.

Gage screamed as he rolled away from the zebra, knowing that there was no way his ribs weren't broken. However, the old soldier managed to get back on his feet.

The zebra once again let the machete-like blade to fall onto him. The narrow corridor barely allowed Gage to move, but he did sidestep to the left.

The blade barely missed his neck, and instead, it went cleanly through his armour-like leather armour and sliced flesh off his shoulder.

Gage let go of a horrendous scream as white-hot pain instantly enveloped where six inches of his flesh used to be. A piece of the shoulder bone was also gone. The snow-white filthy wall was now also covered in blood, like crimson paint on a canvas, much like his friend splattered it mere moments ago.

"You know, one would think that you preds would have at least evolved in combat, if nothing else," the zebra sneered.

"You are all nothing but a bunch of wannabe savages. It is ingrained in your biologically inferior brains which demand you only to maim and slaughter. No different than the alligators who haven't evolved, but even less impressive," Sebastian lectured with a crooked smile.

Gage said nothing as he kept his knife with a white-knuckled grip as he kneeled down, cradling his ribs. He had had his ribs broken before. Even breathing caused him unmeasurable of pain of the broken bones shifting through his flesh and grazing his lungs.

The Zebra chuckled softly as he was finally only within paw's reach of the defeated wolf warrior.

The chuckle. A mockery of the predator - a celebration of the feeble prey's victory over their rightful rulers.

Blood began to rush to his bones, his brain overloading itself with adrenaline and natural painkillers.

He needed to be taught a lesson - that prey hid from predators for a reason, that Bellwether was scared of them for a reason, that all of the city's prey followed her on her road to near-dictatorship because of something hard-wired in their feeble brains.

Gage could hear his foe's blade whooshing through the air, looking to decapitate him.

With a roar which nearly deafened the prey, the wolf jumped over the blade and dug his claws into the back of the Zebra. His screams were music to the predator's ears. His fangs soon began looking for his throat. He had only managed to bite his shoulder, but it didn't matter as he bit down hard, feeling blood rushing into his mouth and the screams of the prey becoming desperate as he was swinging the machete wildly.

That was it: the prey would die. He would be victorious and Carnivore would find a way to secure his assets afterwards.

It was all in vain however, as Gage felt a cruel, cold and slim piece of steel going through his side. He let go of his bite, looking down, noticing his completely skewered torso and the worrying amounts of blood seeping on the floor. No, that had to be the zebra's blood... There was no way he had lost, there was no way-

Soon, however, Gage was no longer capable of feeling anything else. A demonic chuckle from his victorious opponent was his last memory.


End file.
